Land of Rivers Arc
by unknown chuunin
Summary: A follow-up turns into a mission to defend Sand for Shikamaru, Ino and Chouji. Yamato uses the mission as cover for an allied black-ops mission with Sand. ShikaTema beginning to happen.
1. A Favor for the Sand

Background: Should fit into the anime storyline as a filler arc after the rescue Gaara arc and before Naruto's sage training. ShikaTema slowly happening.

This is a work in progress, so come back often! Additional chapters will be shorter than the first one (and will take longer than chapter 2 went up, but I got excited after writing chapter 1).

I don't own Naruto, so all characters, places, etc. are the rights of their creator. Any similarities to other stories are coincidental. If you can't find the characters on Narutopedia, they're my creations. Enjoy.

* * *

Shizune entered the room. "Tsunade-sama," she began.

"How does she always manage to get in here just when I'm ready to take a break?" Lady Tsunade grumbled to herself.

"We have just received a message from the Village Hidden in the Sand. They request Shikamaru's assistance at once. His responsibilities for the chuunin exam apparently aren't over. Also, it appears to be signed by the Kazekage, but something about the signature isn't right."

"That boy fulfills his responsibilities, but his lack of motivation even drains me. Perhaps the Sand liaison can inspire him by the time this is finally finished." For Shikamaru's sake, she hoped that the Sand kunoichi would.

"But Lady Tsunade, the signature mystery. Shouldn't an ANBU escort be prepared?" Shizune insisted.

The Hokage was visibly irritated by the whole situation. Besides, she was expecting Shikamaru's report on reallocating Leaf defenses by the end of the week. "Summon him. Chouji and Ino too. And Yamato. We can't afford to send a whole ANBU squadron just for a chuunin exam follow-up, even if it is a trap. Shikamaru will see through it, if that's what it is."

* * *

Inside the Yamanaka flower shop, Hinata was gazing intently at the selection of delicate blooms. "Ino-san," Hinata gently began to ask, barely loud enough to get Ino's attention, "Do you have any yellow and orange narcissus this time of year?"

"Narcissus? Why would you want those, Hinata? Forsythia and plum blossoms make a much nicer arrangement now... unless you want them for someone special." Ino had that almost-evil, knowing look in her eye as she spoke.

Hinata instantly began to blush as she stammered, "T-They just make me happy."

The wind chime on the front door announced another visitor. "Yamato sensei, what are you doing here?" Hinata's words were markedly relaxed from a moment ago.

"Lady Hokage has called for Team Ten and myself."

Yamato and Ino ran out of the shop toward the Hokage Residence, leaving Hinata alone to find her special narcissus. "I-I guess I'll find it myself, Ino-san." After a few minutes, Hinata collected a small bouquet of orange and yellow narcissus from a cooler near the back of the store. Writing a note and a receipt, Hinata left the cash near the register.

* * *

Chouji and Shikamaru met Ino and Yamato at Tsunade's office. As she explained the mission details, Shikamaru let his exasperation slip. "More chuunin exam follow-up? I thought that was finished months ago. What a drag."

Tsunade decided to show a little empathy. "I know it's a pain, Shikamaru, and I don't really want to send four ninja. It should be a quick mission. And prepare to be tested. Yamato, you are in charge of the escort, but Shikamaru will be the overall mission leader."

The group responded in unison, "Yes, Lady Hokage," and left. Since the mission details were vague, the team decided to travel at an easy pace, trying to prepare for a potential ambush.

"Shikamaru, why don't you act interested in any girls? It's not like we're all crazy," Ino blurted out when they stopped to make camp. The awkwardness even momentarily stopped Chouji's eating.

"Women... I mean, relationships are so troublesome." Shikamaru knew better than to say anything negative about women, especially with Ino around.

Seven five-pointed shuriken flew toward the group from somewhere in the night darkness. Chouji reflected five of them with his kunai. The young man's speed and dexterity apparently had grown significantly since his last mission with Shikamaru and Ino. The sixth shuriken cut Chouji's barbeque stick in half, sending his food into the campfire. Infuriated, he turned to Ino, expecting to be treated to her leftovers - she always claimed to be on a diet, after all.

Looking down at her abdomen, Ino saw the final shuriken, a small but steady stream of blood already flowing from the wound.

"Chouji, take Ino back to Leaf hospital. Sand might not be in a position to help her right now. Yamato, I need you to find and eliminate whoever is targeting us. Use transformation jutsu on a wood clone and hide it nearby. I need them to think I'm still here. In this light I can hardly use my shadow jutsu anyway."

Moments after leaving, carrying Ino, Chouji felt her body go limp. "Hang in there, Ino! We'll make it back to the Hidden Leaf in no time. Just hang in there! I-I promise I will protect you."

Shikamaru stealthily moved south by southeast, hoping to keep his true path hidden. A few kilometers later, a voice broke the darkness and silence. "Ino said that it was hard getting Leaf men's attention, but this was ridiculous," the shinobi said with a short laugh. That voice - Shikamaru recognized it instantly. But this whole mission and the sudden attack couldn't possibly have been one big setup. "If you're ready," the voice taunted, "let's have that rematch. Besides, we both know that you had enough chakra to finish it. I just need to know..."

"That's what this is about?" Shikamaru momentarily lost his cool. "Ah man, now she knows she got me. What a pain that one can be."

"Don't worry about your teammates. The shuriken was tipped with a simple knock-out poison. She'll be fine in an hour. And she didn't lose that much blood. You can still be tricked with a very simple genjutsu."

"Why do you want to challenge me so badly, Temari-san?"

"Because," she began, then tossed a dozen shuriken straight up into the air, "I think you are a worthy opponent, even if you are lazy." Ten steps away, Shikamaru could see her wry smile turn to intense focus. He lept back just before Temari unleashed her wind scythe jutsu. "Did you like my ninjutsu improvement? I picked it up from Tenten way back during our chuunin exam. You can be honest, I won't be disappointed by you."

"Once again I'm stuck fighting a kunoichi. What a drag. She really wants to beat me, but I can't let myself lose to a woman. And it's not right roughing up a woman, even if she is the aggressor," Shikamaru quietly said to himself, obviously agitated.

As Temari released her jutsu, a trumpet bellowed from the southeast. It was a distress call from the Sand Village meant specifically for Leaf ninja in the region. A single, deep trumpet blast was the alliance's request for immediate assistance. The sound of the raging wind and sand made the sound barely noticeable.

"Shikamaru, no doubt you felt each of those shuriken graze you in the midst of the jutsu. Don't worry, I wouldn't want any real harm to befall you... crybaby." She let out a short laugh. Apparently she'll hold onto that memory for a while. "So what's your plan, acclaimed strategist of the Leaf? Your partners are preoccupied. Your ANBU teammate has been recalled for an urgent mission in the neighboring Land of Rivers, and it has been reported to him that Sand medical-nin have come to the aid of Chouji and Ino - which is true, in case you're wondering. The cloud cover prevents you from using shadow jutsu tonight. You are in a strange land that I know extensively."

"You talk too much for a ninja," Shikamaru retorted. A paper bomb attached to a kunai flew toward Temari but missed her completely. "It won't last long, but you know my shadow possession shuriken jutsu, right?" The flickering flame of the paper bomb allowed Shikamaru to control Temari, albeit briefly. He walked her closer, not only to protect her from the paper bomb, but he secretly wanted to see her again. He smiled as the paper bomb exploded, extinguishing his ninjutsu.

Temari smirked. "Nice one, Shika-kun. But is that it for tonight? You'd better not just give up again."

Yes, women were a pain, Shikamaru resolved. And the older sister of the Kazekage was a special pain. If Shikamaru failed her tests, or worse, resisted them completely, he knew that it could strain relations between the villages.

"Strategist lesson one: find an advantage in your environment!" Shikamaru shouted as he jumped away from Temari, into the darkness.

"Lesson two: eliminate your opponent's advantage," Temari said, using her sandstorm jutsu to blast a giant swath of desert in his direction. "I hope that didn't hurt too much."

"So what did you need to discuss about the chuunin exam?" Shikamaru asked. His voice came from behind Temari this time. Instinctively she spun around and raised the edge of her giant fan to his throat. "And now who's being too serious?" Shikamaru and Temari were an equal match when it came to bothering each other.

Temari lowered the fan to her side. In an instant, she deflected three kunai coming from the opposite direction. "Now you play with shadow clones, or are they just traps you've set? I hope it's a shadow clone; I wouldn't want you to be predictable."

One more kunai flew toward her, this time from behind Shikamaru. Unable to avoid it, the kunai struck Shikamaru's arm, landing between Temari's feet. Before the Jonin could react in shock, a flare lit up the sky in the distance. To her surprise, Temari saw nobody standing in front of her. Shikamaru had used Yamato's wood clone adeptly.

"Lesson three: prepare." His words were cool, collected.

"I didn't know you had such stamina, Shikamaru," Temari playfully exclaimed. "You certainly know how to keep a girl guessing."

"What did you want to discuss about the chuunin exams, Temari-chan?" His voice sounded gentle but agitated. She still was unsure where he was. As she attempted to turn around, she realized that once again she was caught in his shadow possession jutsu. "I'm right here," he whispered from behind into her left ear. "Now, the chuunin follow-up?" He relented with the jutsu.

Turning to face him Temari replied, "Gaara believes that Naruto must not remain a genin much longer. He needs to develop as a leader," Temari began, then stopped herself.

"Heh, it _is_ Naruto you're talking about," Shikamaru scoffed.

"Itachi left the village because there was no challenge worth staying for. Obviously Naruto loves the Leaf Village." Again Temari stopped. This time Shikamaru could hear her voice strain. After a moment, Temari regained her composure and declared, "We must convince the council and the Hokage to promote him. Gaara refuses to lose Naruto as an ally."

"Naruto is nothing like Itachi. He is fiercely loyal to the village and to his friends. And while he has grown, can you imagine him in charge of a ninja squad? Regardless, even if I wanted to, I couldn't promote him myself."

"You are still the chuunin exam contact for the Leaf. And this is more like a favor that Gaara has asked from both of us. It'll be fun, I promise." Without waiting for an answer, Temari continued, "There is another matter more pertinent to the chuunin exam."

Temari looked directly into Shikamaru's eyes as she spoke. "Any ninja should be honored to have you as Sensei... as long as you're not always so boring." She smiled, knowing that her words were effective in bothering Shikamaru's otherwise relaxed demeanor. "Gaara, on the other hand..." Her face once again turned serious. "He is a wise and capable Kazekage, but there are lessons that he can't teach young kunoichi."

"Like how to forge his signature to intentionally arouse suspicion? Matsuri and Sari both wrote the message that was sent to the Leaf village. Since there were two writers, I knew it wasn't a real ambush." Obviously Shikamaru would rather be gazing at the stars rather than dealing with Temari right now. "And sounding the trumpet was overkill."

"Shikamaru," Temari said as her blue eyes peered deeply into his eyes, "Wait, what? I know better than to misuse that trumpet." Her look of affection turned to concern. "Quickly!" she shouted, as they started running toward the Sand village.

* * *

"Shikamaru, Temari, where were you?" Ino cried out. A squad of Sand and Leaf ninja were regrouping near the top of the city gate.

When they reached the group, Sari burst out, "Temari-sama, the intruders are demanding Kankuro. We don't know how they infiltrated the village. Lord Kazekage, Kankuro and Baki have not returned yet from their mission. Three attackers are in the village but cannot be located. A fourth has been keeping the defenders busy out here. Lady Temari, shall I alert the Kazekage to return?"

"No, Sari, that will be unnecessary. That mission is too important. Find Matsuri and compile a list of all villagers known to be in the city. Chouji, please go with them."

"Y-Yes, Lady Temari." "Yes, Temari-sama, at once."

"Ino, I need you to convince the ninja outside the gates that his comrades have been captured. We need to lure him inside to subdue him."

"Yes!"

Shikamaru sighed. "The duties never end around here."

"When this is all over, I can make sure you don't regret this mission," Temari said with a wink.

"Did she really just do that? Geez, women are such a pain," Shikamaru whined to himself. "So what's our task, Temari?"

* * *

"Yamato, we know this alliance is disapproved by some Leaf factions," Baki explained. "But we need to know that the Village Hidden in the Leaves is committed to working with the Sand and disabling the Akatsuki at all cost."

"Lady Hokage has agreed. However, we cannot yet extend our full resources. We have lost many of our best ninja defending ourselves in the past few months. Our ANBU unit is quelling an internal rebellion as quietly as possible. And we barely have enough resources to monitor the Akatsuki's preparations against Naruto."

Gaara calmly laid out their current mission. "In addition to confirming our mutual intentions, we must lead a coup against Senrai, the recently self-proclaimed Feudal Lord of the Land of Rivers. He has been building military strength and views the Lands of Wind and Fire with hostility. The Land of Rivers is a vital link between our nations. Without it, we will remain fragmented against the Akatsuki."

"Baki will contact the dissidents and prepare them to take control. There is an underground labyrinth at the Temple of Rivers complex. As a water and earth user, Yamato, you are essential. Gaara and I will distract and hold off the enemy while you infiltrate the base and locate Senrai. Give us a direct entrance to him, and we'll take care of the rest." Kankuro's breathing was heavier than usual. Perhaps the wet air was bothering this Sand ninja, or like his brother, he was unaccustomed to speaking so much.

* * *

"I'll flush out the attacker for Ino. You prepare a trap inside the city," Temari commanded.

"So much work for that woman," Shikamaru muttered. As he left, he heard her use a new ninjutsu.

"Wind release: river jutsu!" A mighty surge of wind began blowing.

"I see, she rides the fan on her air current for scouting. Clever, but she leaves herself open to attack." Shikamaru resented being her subordinate. Oh well, back to preparations.

Inside the village, Shikamaru found a broad but deserted street several blocks from the gate. Quickly and delicately he began working on the trap. Simplicity, he thought, is the key to catching someone on the run - especially when you want them to lead you to their comrades.

"A Leaf in the Sand? How unexpected." The voice was young, warm. It reminded Shikamaru of Temari's more pleasant moments. He looked over his shoulder. Atop a nearby building stood a short woman with shoulder length orange hair. She wore a gray shirt under what appeared to be a very worn green flak jacket.

Shikamaru recognized it as the version worn by Leaf ninja during the Second Great Shinobi World War. Who was this woman and where did she get that jacket? "Why are you here?" he questioned.

"One of my partners has business with Kankuro of the Sand. Where is he, Nara of the Leaf?"

"Is she a missing-nin? Regardless I better finish this quickly." He threw four shuriken; two landed behind her on the roof, and two appeared to have fallen short, lodged in the second story wall of the three story building.

"I know your aim isn't renowned like the Uchiha clan, but I question if you should have graduated from the Academy, let alone pass the chuunin exam." Yet another kunoichi was demeaning Shikamaru. It was a record for a single day - first being reproved by his mother, overhearing Tsunade's comment about his lack of motivation, then Ino's implication that he needed a woman, his entire interaction with Temari, and finally this.

Shikamaru sat down and formed a circle with his hands - a sure sign to anyone who knew him that he was planning the battle that was about to occur.

* * *

Chouji struggled to keep up with the pair of young kunoichi. How could they run so fast, he wondered. After running across what seemed like half the village, Matsuri announced that they had arrived.

"Where are we, anyway?" Chouji wondered aloud.

Sari quickly stated, "This is where the village gatekeepers' records are stored. Now we just need to locate the most recent documents and check everyone in the village against the list."

"But won't that take hours?" Disappointment flooded Chouji's expression.

A woman's scream was followed by a small explosion two blocks away.

"I think we found at least one of them," Chouji exclaimed. The three ninja squad hurried to the scene.

"Lightning style: sea of mirrors jutsu!" A young shinobi paced among an array of shimmering, moving mirrors. Somehow he created all of them with a single burst of lightning. His hair was silver and black, flowing into a long ponytail. He wore a dark blue cloak with a high collar and what appeared to be Lightning symbols stitched in gold along its bottom hem. "Don't worry, you three won't live long enough to suffer unless you can deliver Kankuro to us. He's late on his end of the bargain, and we won't be kept waiting." With a swing of his arms, the mirrors separated and surrounded the three ninja.

Chouji noted that the enemy didn't have the advantage of the sun's glare, thankfully. It was still too dark for that.

Sari let out a fearful cry, but the mirrors diffracted the echo. It was impossible to discern the her location.

"My name is Tiratsu. I am a Lightning-nin free from the oppression of the Village Hidden in the Clouds and the Raikage. Now tell me where the puppeteer is and I might spare you." His focused glare flickered across the field of mirrors, hauntingly.

"You can put down that kunai, little Sand ninja. You don't even know where I am." A shuriken flew from behind a mirror, grazing the back of Sari's right shoulder. Her immediate reaction was to turn around and hold her shoulder with her left hand. Tiratsu anticipated this, throwing a second shuriken that effectively knitted her sleeve to her shoulder, momentarily incapacitating Sari's left arm. "You can't even defend," Tiratsu noted coldly. Then he screamed, "You don't deserve to be called a ninja! None of you do!"

* * *

"Tsunade-sama, Yamato has responded. A situation has developed in the Sand Village. Team Ten is assisting. He is about to begin the allied mission." Shizune bowed slightly before heading toward the door.

Tsunade sighed loudly. It was barely after sunrise and already her day showed signs of being annoyingly complicated. It seemed that she shared more of Shikamaru's sentiments than she wanted to admit. If those mission details ever became public knowledge, the Hokage reputation would be finished. "I miss morning sake with Jiraiya."

* * *

Temari spotted the enemy half a kilometer from the city walls. A pair of kunai flew toward him from behind, but a quick jump and a block with his tanto kept him from harm. He called out, "Think you can push me around, huh?" Soon his tanto began to glow red with chakra. "Five flaming dragons jutsu!"

Five giant chakra dragons emerged from the tip of his tanto. They began seeking out the kunai thrower. A wind scythe jutsu blasted the beasts but left them uninjured. "Darn," she thought aloud, "I just wanted him to move into Ino's range. Now it looks like I have to fight him."

The ninja called out to Temari, "As a wind user, you know you have no chance against an experienced fire user. I've taken on your entire village defense, and now you think you can defeat me. Prepare to die."

He wore a long, brown jacket with short sleeves. On his right leg was a Mist forehead protector with a slash through it. Besides indicating his defection from the village, the protector also served to hold his tanto. A blue mesh shirt gleamed slightly in the moonlight.

One, then two dragons sensed Temari and bolted toward her. The other three quickly followed. Temari threw a dozen shuriken at them, to no avail. "I have to get him to drop the tanto," she thought. She dodged each of the heads as they crashed at the ground, breathing death from above. After a few moments her frustration melted away into confidence. She dodged the dragons' attacks with a calculating rhythm. Slowly and methodically she led them eastward. Out of sight of the city gate, Temari hoped that her gamble was right. It had to be.

She opened her fan once more. "Gentle wind: lifting jutsu." Sure, the name didn't instill fear or awe, but like fingers, it sifted through the sand, tossing projectiles into the air. Combined with her wind scythe jutsu, this attack had the potential to be menacing.

The red dragons closed on her position. If her strategy were to be successful, she needed a decisive change now.

A sudden shriek pierced the darkness. Instantly the dragons dissipated. "Lesson one complete," Temari said to herself.

A minute later, she heard the Mist missing-nin utter something barely audible: "Breath of dragons." What Temari first perceived as a fireball, she soon realized was an enormous chakra blaze emanating from his mouth. Seemingly worse than the fire style she'd heard belonging to the Uchiha clan, the breath of dragons seemed to seek its enemy and expand to engulf it. The heat produced by the jutsu was only surpassed in ferocity by its ability to corrode everything, even the sand itself. A fraction of a second could mean the difference between Temari's safe escape and hot demise. This fire-style user had powerful ninjutsu, she thought, but his planning skills were nothing compared to Shikamaru.

Retreating northward, Temari unleashed another wind jutsu; she couldn't allow her opponent to realize that she was, in fact, leading him toward lesson two. "Ino," she thought aloud, "we'll be there soon."

* * *

"You know a lot about the Leaf for being an outsider," Shikamaru observed. "And your clothing tells that you respected - perhaps loved - someone from the Leaf in the age of the Legendary Sannin."

"At least your acuity is sharper than your sense of direction." Apparently the denigration would continue until Shikamaru defeated the kunoichi towering above him from the rooftop.

"What a drag," he moaned. "Who are you, since you already know me?"

"U-" she began, quickly stopping herself. "Kakiiro." The boy was intuitive. With that miniscule mistake, her identity would be discovered. Now she had to kill him and cover her tracks.

Shikamaru threw three kunai into the air. Attached to each one was a long streamer. Kakiiro caught herself briefly distracted by the streamers. Shikamaru used that moment to disappear in the puff of a smoke bomb, which blanketed the dead-end alley. The streamers began to burn, still high above Kakiiro's head; obviously they were some form of paper bomb.

"Water style: extinguishing jutsu," Kakiiro announced as she completed the hand seals. A heavy, water-like substance spewed from her mouth, saturating and extinguishing the paper streamers. "I would expect a greater challenge than that from a ninja but perhaps you're too lazy. Nara men always are." Her words infuriated Shikamaru, but he couldn't break the silence and give his location. "This is getting boring, so it's time I end it," she said matter-of-factly.

Kakiiro bit her left thumb then slammed her hand against the roof where she was standing. "Summoning jutsu: flying men-of-war!" Dozens of large jellyfish began raining down around Kakiiro, each one the size of a grown man. They quickly moved through the air, ready to attack with long, thin blue tentacles.

Shikamaru realized that he wouldn't be able to hide in the same building below Kakiiro for long. Then his queue came - the streamers re-ignited.

"H-How?" Kakiiro demanded.

Shikamaru's shadow sewing jutsu sprang from the partially lit room where he'd been hiding. It easily pierced all the men-of-war, destroying them. The streamers remained overhead, as if something were keeping them there. Shikamaru's shadow climbed the outside of the building with ease in the light provided by the streamers.

Kakiiro thought through the next moves. "He's going to use his shadow to force me into a corner, then trap and attack me with the kunai streamers. It can't be helped. I need to escape for now."

One streamer exploded with a violent noise. Shikamaru used the opportunity to bore two small holes in the roof behind Kakiiro. Another streamer exploded, this time with a bright flash. "Now's my chance," Kakiiro thought. She jumped, but two shuriken wrapped around her ankle with chakra threads. As she looked down, the two shuriken the young ninja had first thrown were missing from the roof. In their place were two shadow tentacles, seemingly waiting for her return to the roof.

Quickly she grabbed a specialized knife from her rear pocket, infused it with chakra, and cut the threads. The final paper streamer exploded, sending the attached kunai flying toward her. Kakiiro dodged the kunai, but it was close enough to leave a superficial cut across the front of her right thigh, just below the hem of her skirt. Instinctively she dove the moment she hit the roof, then threw a grappling hook into an open window across the alley. She swung hard toward the opposite side of the street. The rope was too long; she only made it two-thirds of the way across the alley before making a diving roll onto the ground, stopping a few meters from the nearest window.

Her heart was racing. "Chakra transformation: pseudo-bijuu, level one." Kakiiro's own dark bluish-purple chakra began to bubble around her.

"What a pain," Shikamaru groaned.

* * *

Chouji understood that clearing a swath of mirrors around him wouldn't help; more would just take their place. But first he needed to know where his Sand allies and the enemy were. He used expansion jutsu to smash a few mirrors, and, more importantly, to give him a broader view of the field. "Sari is ten meters to my right; Matsuri is eight meters behind and to my left. Neither of them appears to be seriously injured. So where is Tiratsu?"

"I'm right here!" Tiratsu shouted, close to Matsuri. "Lightning release: senbon cutters." He threw a barrage of chakra-infused senbon in all directions. They ricocheted off the mirrors, making them extremely difficult to predict. Infused with lightning chakra, each senbon could easily cut a meter or more through a target.

Senbon grazed Chouji and Sari. With amazing skill, Matsuri knocked away all of the senbon flying toward her with her rope javelin. Matsuri called out, "Everyone ok?"

In anguished voices, her teammates replied in unison, "Yeah."

Sari suddenly jumped high into the air. Finding the enemy, she threw a kunai at him. Tiratsu easily directed a mirror in front of him. The kunai struck the mirror and riccocheted, nearly hitting Chouji.

Not in a mood to kill these young shinobi, Tiratsu prepared to incapacitate them. It would be easy since none of them appeared to be sensory ninja. He surrounded himself tightly with mirrors, then closed his eyes and stood still. It would take about twenty seconds to build up sufficient chakra for his next jutsu.

"Now's our chance," Chouji quietly said. He used expansion jutsu then started to plow through the mirrors with his human boulder technique, heading straight for Tiratsu. Unsure how the mirrors surrounding Tiratsu would react against his attack, Chouji hoped that Sari and Matsuri would use the opportunity to escape.

The pair of kunoichi recognized that this could be their only chance. Sari threw two sets of four kunai. One set flew past Tiratsu's right side and the other on his left. All of them were attached to chakra threads. It wasn't a tight hold, but they did limit his potential movements as Chouji approached him.

On Chouji's first pass, the mirrors deflected him. Any subsequent attack would have to be precise in order to do anything useful.

Matsuri ran toward Tiratsu, dodging and kicking any mirrors that got in her way.

Chouji turned around to make his second pass. All of the mirrors except for those enveloping Tiratsu moved into a large dome formation with the four of them inside. Sari sprinted past Tiratsu, hoping to pull him over with the chakra threads. Reaching ten meters beyond him, she stumbled while he and the mirrors remained unmoved, unshaken.

Chouji picked up speed as he rolled directly at Tiratsu. He crashed into Tiratsu with amazing force, shattering the protective mirrors. Perfectly timed, Matsuri's rope javelin wound around Tiratsu so that he was unable to move his arms or legs. Chouji and the Sand ninja had stopped their opponent with a commendable level of teamwork.

A fraction of a second after Chouji slammed into Tiratsu and Matsuri threw her rope javelin, Tiratsu completed his jutsu. Through the noise of the battle, none of the ninja were able to hear him declare, "Lightning style: blinding radiance." Nor did they notice how the great pillar of light rose like a bolt of lightning from Tiratsu, struck the uppermost mirrors of the dome and diffracted throughout the enclosure. The last thing that they saw was a great white flash, brighter than anything they had ever seen before.

The flash was gone in less than a second. However, the jutsu was successful; Chouji, Sari and Matsuri were blinded. All that remained of their vision was a painful white blur. Confused and caught off-guard, Sari released her chakra threads. Unaware of what just happened, Matsuri clenched the end of her rope javelin, the only thing that still held Tiratsu.


	2. Negotiations

The entrance to Senrai's subterranean fortress was actually rather easy to find. It had to be easily accessible, patrolled by some guards but not enough to appear suspicious, and as inconspicuous as possible. According to rumors, the fortress was directly underneath the river in the heart of the poor nation. Yamato searched an area less than a square kilometer before finding his way inside.

It was cool and surprisingly small through the entryway, which opened up into a series of gently sloping paths. At the bottom was a small gathering room. Three iron gates were evenly spaced along the back wall. So far the place felt more like a dungeon than a Feudal Lord's fortress.

Beyond the gates was a poorly lit grand hall, presumably where any official events would be held by the Feudal Lord. Yamato spotted three guards just inside the gates. It was unclear whether they were ninja, soldiers or just hired men with swords. Each man carried a katana at his side. On each shoulder was the kanji for "Rivers."

One of the guards sighed loudly. "I once trained under Chiriku, one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja. Look where it got me - down in this pit guarding Lord Senrai's command center. When was the last time anyone even used this place?"

"Quiet," another guard scolded. "Don't provoke Lord Senrai's wrath. And be thankful that you can provide for your family."

The third man wryly interjected, "If you call a bowl of rice a week providing for your family."

Two will be loyal to our cause, and the third is mostly afraid of him, Yamato thought. "There's no need to kill such men." With that said, Yamato used his hidden in stones jutsu to move past them undetected.

"Either of you feel something different in here?" the youngest guard asked.

"No, it must be your stomach," quipped the guard with the family. He and the other guard, who was also old enough to have children Naruto and Sakura's age, erupted in laughter. "Doesn't your new wife feed you enough?" His face turned red from laughing.

Cautiously Yamato made his way through the gate and along the left wall of the great hall, where the light was dimmest. At the back of the room, a set of heavy wooden doors separated the room from a solitary hallway. Because of the way it was constructed, Yamato was able to continue to the other side using his jutsu. Yamato reminded himself that he had to keep track of his location with respect to the surface. Accidentally flooding these chambers would be disastrous for the mission.

Outside, Gaara used his third eye technique to search for guards and dissidents who might be useful after the coup. Baki already left to meet his contacts. Kankuro was given the primary task of defeating Senrai's loyalist forces. This allowed Gaara to remain hidden and prepared at any moment to escape before being recognized. The Kazekage felt unduly constrained by this strategy, only acting as a scout. Unfortunately his brother sided with Baki, claiming that it was in the best interest of the village, considering the nations' tense political climate.

It had been decided that the new Feudal Lord-in-waiting should not have contact with the Kazekage or Hokage until his power stabilized and the other nations acknowledged him as the rightful leader of the Land of Rivers. In addition to his ability to lead, he had to be inclined toward the mutual benefits of the Lands of Rivers, Fire and Wind. Ideally, Baki believed, a feudal lord should be capable of leading his troops in battle and willing to give his life to protect his people. That's the way of a Kage, the way of any good shinobi.

In a small wooden hut, Baki met the Feudal Lord-in-waiting. He wore a long silver-blue cloak with a high collar and the kanji for "Rivers" on both shoulders. Black pants and a mesh shirt completed his outfit. His braided black hair reached the middle of his shoulder blades. His dark green eyes, though remaining fixed on his visitor, seemed to be constantly searching for an impending threat. To his right stood a ninja, probably twenty years old. The young man wore a brown flak jacket over a dark blue shirt. He, too, had "Rivers" embroidered in kanji on his shoulders. He clutched a kunai throughout the men's conversation, refusing to lower his guard.

"My name is Baki, envoy from the Village Hidden in the Sand. I appreciate your willingness to meet."

"As you already know, a significant amount of Senrai's forces are disillusioned. They have witnessed his military buildup at the expense of their rations and pay. But they are not willing to desert; their families would be executed for treason by Senrai's personal guard. Only a quick and decisive victory will ensure us their loyalty." The leader paused for a moment, leaning against the back of his chair with his hand. "I make no apologies for my vision for this land. I, Ishin Yakuhikui, will bring honor to the land of my fathers and my children. This nation will once again be known for its artisans, its prosperity, and its ability to defend itself. I welcome trade with the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire. However, I insist on one point in this matter: in exchange for priority access through this land and for priority in receiving missions from us, we require ninja training for our forces. Both you and the Leaf village have developed useful training curricula. Teach us so that we may become strong enough to defend ourselves and perhaps, at some point, to come to the aid of our allies as well."

"The Sand and Leaf villages are prepared to meet that commitment under a condition of their own," Baki replied stoically. "Once you have been officially recognized as Feudal Lord, you shall sign a non-proliferation treaty stipulating that the Land of Rivers will not build a hidden village to compete against its neighbors. The primary purpose of developing ninja training will be for the common defense."

"Of course," Ishin agreed.

Confident that Ishin would be a suitable leader, Baki bluntly asked, "How soon will you be ready to assume control?"

Ishin was caught off guard by his directness. The ambitious opposition leader lately had been preparing himself for the rigorous and often nuanced dialogues with official ambassadors. Speaking candidly was almost never in the interest of a feudal lord. Considering the question and its implications for a moment, he decided to meet the Sand liaison with as much confident openness as he could muster. Ishin knew that the slightest sign of wavering could force the envoy to withdraw his support. "In two days," he replied.

The young ninja's eyes grew wide at his master's bold statement. He only hoped that Baki, this man standing before them, hadn't noticed his reaction. "Two days," he kept repeating in his mind. It had taken over two months to covertly gather less than twenty men among Senrai's forces. More were sympathetic to Ishin's cause, but Senrai's orders to kill the family of anyone deemed a traitor was a highly effective deterrent. It remained unclear how many would be willing to support the change in leadership. Did Senrai loyalists number in the tens or the hundreds? Were they willing to die to protect him? These questions plagued the young ninja as he sought to assist the one man who seemed to embody his ideals.

* * *

At the moment, Shikamaru was actually relieved that Tsunade had made him review all the reports from the recent Sora-Furido incident. Although the chakra aura confronting him had grown in size and intensity, Shikamaru noted that it still seemed to be Kakiiro's. As powerful as she might be, she was not a jinchuuriki or even a pseudo-jinchuuriki like Sora. Nonetheless, he wished that he hadn't wasted even the small amount of chakra in his battle against Temari earlier that night.

Two small blue tails became evident as Kakiiro's massive chakra release took form. Shikamaru couldn't help but wonder how she managed this transformation without ingesting something like the Akimichi clan's special pills. With lightning speed, Kakiiro swiped at him with her chakra paw. Four razor sharp claws slashed with ease through the building wall.

Shikamaru ran to the back window of the room and jumped. He knew that he couldn't retreat and risk any greater damage to the village. He climbed atop the adjacent building. Kakiiro let out a spine-tingling growl as she leapt at him. Just before she was able to sink her teeth into him, a smoke bomb exploded.

Somehow he managed to escape. Enraged, she prowled around the roof, trying to determine where he went and what his next move would be. "You will not escape!" Kakiiro screamed. Her voice was strained, infuriated. She raised her front paws to the sky then sent them crashing into the roof. First the roof, then the entire building crumbled. She jumped back to the street, sniffing the air for Shikamaru's scent.

"She can't see my chakra with her transformation. To think someone besides Naruto actually believed a simple clone jutsu." Shikamaru smirked. He would happily use this information to his advantage.

Kakiiro let out a long, deafening high-pitched growl. A burst of chakra flew in all directions. The chakra shock wave battered the already damaged storefronts on this dead-end street. A loud, slow creak rattled the buildings behind Kakiiro. "There won't be much of an alley left at this rate," Shikamaru thought. The third floor balcony was almost ready to fall. Only a few narrow pieces of rebar kept it anchored to the front of the building. Undoubtedly it would damage the second story balcony as well when it fell - if the entire building didn't collapse first.

Eight blocks away, Chibizu recognized his partner's massive chakra buildup. "What did she get herself into this time?" the young ninja asked himself as he raced toward Kakiiro. "She has a habit of getting too excited when she encounters an enemy."

Standing atop the administration building that lent its rear side to the end of the alley, Chibizu called to Kakiiro. Shikamaru didn't see him until he spoke; had he been standing there long? "Ah, man..." Shikamaru exclaimed in exasperation.

Chibizu wore a faded red shirt with short sleeves; wide, flowing tan pants; leather bracers on both arms; and a long, tan headband. From this distance, Shikamaru was unable to see what symbol was on the ninja's forehead protector, but his clothes indicated that he was not a member of the Sand. He stood like a man years older than he was - confident, but not arrogant or superior to his comrade. For the moment, Shikamaru thought highly of the young man on the rooftop.

Chibizu told Kakiiro, "Kankuro isn't here, and neither is what we need. There's no reason to stay and fight right now." Shikamaru was puzzled. Speaking rationally never worked during a transformation according to everything that he had read on the subject. But maybe she could control her chakra transformation better than a jinchuuriki, since it _was_ her own chakra.

"As for you," Chibizu began, looking in Shikamaru's direction, "I am afraid that my partner and I must excuse ourselves. We have more important business at the moment."

Noticing the direction of Chibizu's gaze, Kakiiro turned to lunge at the empty-looking building. Six fiery ropes shot out of the ground, pinning down Kakiiro in her transformed state. The ropes appeared to dissipate her chakra until an exhausted woman re-emerged. Chibizu quickly jumped to the street, scooped her into his arms, and fled across the rooftops.

Suddenly Shikamaru noticed the sound of an elderly woman cowering in the adjacent room. Quietly drawing his kunai for safety, Shikamaru entered the room and asked, "Is everyone ok in here?" He heard no response before the livingroom ceiling collapsed. "We need to get out of here now!" Shikamaru exclaimed as he helped the old lady to her feet and out of the unstable building.

Once outside, the woman opened her eyes and gasped. "Never in all my years would I have thought that a Leaf ninja would be my savior. These days are so different now," she said, beginning to reflect on some pivotal moment of her long life.

Shikamaru left in search of the two ninja. In the back of his mind, he knew that he would have won the fight if Chibizu hadn't interfered, which irritated him. Even worse, the mysterious enemy wasted his supply of ninja tools, learned his style of fighting, and even learned what kind of jutsu he used. Kakiiro's archetypal remarks would bother him the rest of the night. How much did that strange kunoichi actually know about Konoha and himself? Trying to shake free the questions he couldn't answer, Shikamaru went back toward the gate to assist Ino and Temari. Hopefully their opponent would be less troublesome, he thought.


	3. Into the Darkness

Four hundred meters ahead, Temari knew there was an underground cistern. It had been sealed, buried beneath the sand, and subsequently abandoned after the last Shinobi World War. Much of the supply route, of which it had been a part, was destroyed by the Shukaku. Unaware of the collapse, scores of fleeing Sand villagers, most of them elderly or children, had died when they became trapped while attempting to escape through the tunnels. It was a tragic and painful loss for the village. None of the ninja assigned to recover the bodies were able to work without gagging or crying. It was a particularly somber note to a difficult war.

Temari searched her memory for a way into the cistern. As she got closer to it, she knew she was running out of time and ideas. Her little scorpion stunt earlier bought a quick laugh and ended the ninja's five dragon jutsu, but surprise alone doesn't win battles; it's the well-planned and well-executed strategy that wins. She assumed that Shikamaru set his trap ages ago and probably even helped defeat the enemies in the city by now.

She clenched her teeth in frustration. This battle was taking too long and going nowhere. "How troublesome." She chewed on the words. She had started using that phrase to mock Shikamaru, but slowly it became a regular part of her vocabulary. It accurately described her sentiments far too often.

Temari also couldn't help but wonder how her brother was involved with this annoying ninja squad. "If it's something stupid," she said absently, "I think I'll kill him myself."

She realized then that her enemy no longer seemed to be pursuing her. How could she let this happen, she thought. Maybe being on duty without sleep for the past two days was getting to her. She refused to admit that she let herself get distracted thinking about the young Leaf ninja. Somehow he would pay for this, she promised herself.

Taking a deep breath, she drew blood from her thumb and smeared it across her fan. Instantly a sneak of small desert weasels appeared. "This had better be worth it," the matriarchal-looking one sneered. Unfazed, Temari performed a tedious combination of hand seals. She gave them that matter-of-fact grin that indicated she was determined to succeed - even though she hadn't fully planned her strategy.

The weasels looked at Temari momentarily then headed in the assumed direction of their target. She was running low on chakra and really hoped that the sneak of weasels would excel at their night hunt. They looked so cute and deadly, scampering off with their kusarigama into the night, she thought.

Getting some rest was becoming a priority on her very long "to do" list. Thankfully, she still had enough chakra to complete that last jutsu without collapsing from exhaustion. With a sigh, she let her knees buckle together as she slumped to the ground.

* * *

Now was Tiratsu's perfect chance to escape. Sure, he could have easily killed them, but he wasn't bloodthirsty and it wasn't necessary for the mission. Besides, he was somewhat amused by their weak attacks, and it didn't hurt to learn how this upcoming group of ninja fought. Having felt the rope javelin encircle him, it would be a simple matter of cutting the rope and leaving without them knowing where he went.

He squirmed to move his hand to his hip pouch for a kunai. It wasn't there. How could he have lost the entire pouch in a battle where he barely moved? He looked over his shoulder, hoping to see the pouch dropped at his feet.

"Where is he?" Sari asked anxiously. "W-What's going on?" She winced in pain as she reopened her eyes, still only able to see a white haze. Quickly she shut her eyelids again.

Matsuri replied, "I think I still have him." Giving the rope javelin a quick tug, she felt some resistance. "Yes, he's ten meters directly in front of my voice."

Tiratsu knew this wasn't going to be fun for much longer. He wasn't even sure where the rotund guy was at the moment. Walking himself through the attack, Chouji last hit him from behind. It was a dead-center attack that destroyed his protective mirrors. But then the ninja spun off his right side and kept going. Tiratsu remembered that the sound had curved slightly farther to the right before stopping. Was he five meters away or twenty? He couldn't estimate distance based on sound if his life depended on it, and unfortunately he couldn't see Chouji anyway.

Having heard Sari and Matsuri on opposite sides of Tiratsu, Chouji decided to use the moment to properly triangulate their containment of the lightning ninja. Even though the three of them seemed screwed, he thought, it was possible that there was a reason their opponent was still with them. Was he injured? No, he would have left immediately if that were the case. Was he dead? It seemed unlikely that he would have died from a single direct hit from Chouji's human boulder, especially since the ninja had those protective mirrors surrounding him.

He couldn't take the suspense any longer and used his partial expansion jutsu. His enormous arm swiped at Tiratsu. Instinctually Tiratsu jumped as the air movements changed around him. The rope javelin acted as a tether, limiting his height. Chouji's hand hit his feet, causing him to do an uncontrolled forward flip. Tiratsu did a face plant on the street. He'd get a massage tomorrow, he promised himself, assuming he could finish this quickly.

Chouji swung his left hand next, expecting literally to catch Tiratsu off guard. It worked, he thought, as he squeezed the man in his powerful hand. In a puff, the ninja was gone, replaced by a fistful of sand. Chouji crushed it in frustration. The three of them were sitting ducks if Tiratsu or any other ninja decided to attack.

"You should thank me that I even spared you," Tiratsu taunted. His voice indicated that he was standing on a nearby rooftop. Sari was closest to him, but it was unclear whether she realized that fact. "Maybe we can meet again some day when you little girls have grown up," he jeered, this time from the ground a few meters behind Chouji.

An enlarged fist flew backwards, completely missing the target.

"As for your vision..." he said dramatically, "it will return... eventually. And don't open your eyes, it'll make it worse." He stood in the middle of them with a smug grin on his face. Playtime was over, and he had won decisively. Even being blinded by his own jutsu - the fat ninja had destroyed his mirror shields at the perfect moment - Tiratsu evaded them almost effortlessly. The more challenging part was ahead now; he still had to stealthily leave the city and meet his team at the rendezvous point without his sight. He regretted not making a better effort to memorize the terrain at the start of the mission.

He hadn't captured Kankuro or even learned any useful intelligence. On top of that, he faced being ridiculed by his teammates for being caught by his own ninjutsu. Debriefing tonight would be miserable for him. At least he sincerely expected his teammates to be more successful. His humiliation could be short if he got them to focus on the success of their mission.

Tiratsu decided on a direct route out of the city rather than a discreet ground-level exfiltration. He wasn't in the mood to deal with any accidental encounters with Sand ninja at the moment, but that wasn't his only reasoning for taking the rooftops. He just wanted to get to the rendezvous site and be finished for the night. By morning his sight would start to return, as would his opponents' vision. He just hadn't been able to resist the chance to frighten the genin and chuunin. "If the mission was a complete failure tonight," he thought aloud, "at least we can decide on a better strategy than 'scatter and search the village' for next time."

A few blocks from the edge of town, Tiratsu heard some distant commotion. He was relieved that it was distant, because it meant that whatever was happening there was distracting people from noticing him. He was escaping slowly, clumsily, but he _was_ managing to escape.

A sharp pain exploded from the tender flesh between his left ankle and Achilles tendon. Tiratsu grabbed his ankle as he fell, then rolled along the roof of a rather small house. He felt a senbon sticking through the flesh and decided to remove it. The pain wasn't normal - it was excruciating, in fact - and within seconds every slight movement of his seemed extreme. His head began to throb. As he gently laid his head on the roof, it felt like a violent crash. Whatever poison was coursing through his body, Tiratsu knew that it was beyond his ability to treat. He assumed that it was a neurotoxin; within minutes he probably wouldn't be able to move of his own volition.

He cursed. He cursed Sunagakure, its ninja, the Wind nation. He cursed Kankuro. Stumbling further toward unconsciousness, he cursed the Raikage and the Village Hidden in Clouds. They could have saved his brother instead of assigning him for a battle he was unprepared and unable to win. All the ninja in the village had known that it was a suicide mission, but the Raikage assigned _him_ instead of finding a volunteer. Anger washed over his consciousness.

He had crawled within a couple of meters of the roof's edge but could go no further. He couldn't will his limbs to move. He demanded that the ninja who poisoned him reveal himself, but he couldn't tell if the words ever left his head. His hatred and frustration mingled as tears ran across his face and onto the roof. He was still much too weak to make his brother proud. The shameful result of his battle tonight left him with a painful bitterness in his heart. Maybe he should have just killed those ninja. Maybe he should have killed as many people as he could. He couldn't decide before losing consciousness.

Tiratsu awoke in darkness. At first he didn't know if he was blind or somewhere dark. Was it day or night? For that matter, where was he? As he tried to lift himself from the ground, he realized that he was unable. "Where am I?" he shouted.

A cold, feminine voice reverberated in his head, "You're my prisoner."

"Where am I?" he reiterated. "Who are you? What do you want?" he begged, an anxious tone beginning to fill his voice. His breathing became shallow.

"I have no reason to kill you yet," the voice replied, "nor a reason to keep you alive. I want answers, and you will provide them. If I like what I hear, you live. It's that simple."

Tiratsu's chest began to tighten. Nobody ever prepared him to endure interrogation - much less torture - as he was sure this was. He was even more scared by what he didn't know. "I-I-I..." he stammered, "I'm a mercenary from the Land of Lightning, home of my clansmen. M-My name is T-Tiratsu. I was hired to retrieve an item from Kankuro of the Sand and return it to my employer."

"What item?"

Tiratsu tried not to respond. Divulging the exact details of his mission would threaten his client's identity and harm his already tarnished reputation.

"What item?" the voice roared, leaving a ringing in his ears. "Who is your employer?"

He searched frantically for the words. "I-uh-um-uh... a gift!" Yeah, that was it. "Something passed down from the Kazekage. Kankuro of the Sand is rumored to have it." He hoped with every part of his being that his answers would keep him alive. Then he began to realize just what he'd been doing. Shamefully he blushed.

"_Who_?" the woman screamed. Her voice tickled the outside of his ear.

Was she really that close? He tried to turn his head and look.

The cold, heavy sole of a ninja sandal became planted firmly against his face. In that moment, Tiratsu noticed that he was lying on the ground. A thin layer of sand and dirt separated him from cold, uneven stone. If he were in a cave, he reasoned, that would account for the strange echo from the woman's voice. He also noticed that, although his arms were bound at his sides, he could still move his fingers.

His captor smeared the sole of the sandal across his face, placing significant force on his temple. Everything turned white for a moment. The pressure subsided along with the white vision. Tiratsu reasoned that he must not be blind if he could see white.

His breathing and heart rate slowed to nearly normal. He was becoming more and more aware of the situation. He wasn't going to die immediately. Some day he could still become the great shinobi that his brother should have been. He just had to survive this first. "Who am I kidding?" he asked. "I'll never be the ninja he was." Tiratsu was surprised that he'd actually said that aloud.

"Who?" the woman asked calmly. She moved her sandal to his neck. Applying pressure at the right angle, his head throbbed. "Who?" she asked again with slightly more emphasis.

Tiratsu just sighed.

A minute passed slowly in silence.

She kicked him in the back of the left leg, just above the heel. The edges of his vision turned white and yellow from the shock of pain. He took a deep, labored breath. Why was this a time for honor? He certainly hadn't resisted when he offered his mission details.

"Did you forget the question?" she sneered.

"M-My name is Tiratsu. I am a ninja from the Land of Lightning. I am on a mission t-" he said, being interrupted by a kick to the lower spine. He howled in pain. "I do not follow the Raikage. I am on a mission to retrieve an item for my employer from Kankuro of the Sand."

"And what is the item? Who is your employer?" his interrogator demanded. He felt the point of a kunai pressed into his back, aimed at his right kidney.

"I don't know!" he cried. Shameful tears rolled down his cheeks. "I don't know. I don't know. I don't know."

"You are a disgrace to ninja everywhere," the cold, feminine voice declared. Unfortunately Tiratsu felt that he had to agree, considering his cowardice and string of utter failures this mission.


	4. Unanswered Questions

**Author's note**: It's a short chapter, and honestly, it's not that great in my opinion. I started to run out of ideas for what would happen next, but I wanted to get another chapter for you. The next chapter will be longer and better, I promise. And it will probably be a week or two before I post it since I haven't even thought about what will happen in it. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy the update!

* * *

"After a long time waiting at the gate, I came looking for Temari. From the city wall I spotted a man in blue fleeing. I hit him with a poisoned senbon. I know I hit him," Ino told Shikamaru. "But when I reached the roof where he'd fallen, he was gone without a trace. There's no way that he escaped on his own."

Shikamaru grunted. He hadn't done much better. "The kunoichi I fought used a chakra transformation. Then a ninja in red and tan clothes subdued her and fled, carrying her."

"That's weird," Ino interjected.

"Yeah... And she said they were searching for Kankuro." Shikamaru stood silent for a moment. Ino presumed her teammate was deducing the intruders' exact plan or perhaps devising an amazing counter-attack. Then he asked, "Have you seen Chouji or Temari yet?"

"No," she replied with a small inflection in her voice, wondering if, perhaps, he expected a different answer.

* * *

A candle flickered down a vacant hallway. This didn't look like the residence or even the command center of the Feudal Lord of the Rivers. If the intelligence was bad, there very well could be an ambush awaiting him.

Yamato decided to use his wood release to plant a series of tiny saplings in the walls. Not only could he use them to detect anyone's presence with their roots easily growing up to half a kilometer away, but if necessary, he could make them grow suddenly. The walls and the entire complex would quickly collapse. The river above would swiftly drown anyone able to survive the catastrophic collapse. But that was a fail-safe.

He turned another corner and heard two distant voices. One was an older man, someone of high rank. He attempted to cover the age-related weakness of his voice with a combination of terseness and the power afforded his position. Another man, much younger, trailed him. The younger man was a ninja in charge of a small force, probably mercenaries hired by the Feudal Lord. The older man refused to accept the ninja's strategic advice. The land's traditional defensive tactics would be enough to draw out and stall the enemy while the real devastation was being prepared behind enemy lines.

Yamato strained to hear more of the conversation while not being detected. How long, he wondered, would it be before this battle occurred? The timing of the coup now seemed urgent.

Yamato wanted to get a glimpse of the men to later identify them. Killing them now would be too dangerous - the Feudal Lord might call for the strike even sooner or start hunting dissidents in his ranks. The alliance needs every available warrior ready to make a stand against the Feudal Lord.

"You're in danger, my lord," the ninja whispered. His shirt was a most unappealing smattering of dark and light greens. A kama was slung across his back. On his right bicep was a tattoo. Yamato presumed it to be a pair of crossed kama, but at this distance and angle it was difficult to tell.

"I've been in danger lots of times, Kehai, and that doesn't make me change my plans. If you met Senrai's servant-girl, you'd know what I mean. Her cooking is the best I've ever tasted, and she's attractive too. If I were twenty years younger..." the old commander said with a laugh.

"My lord, the fortress has been infiltrated. You _must_ get to safety!" The young man threw a handful of shuriken down the corridor as a squadron of guards rushed from the other direction.

The six guards hustled to surround the commander, their wakizashi rattling at each man's left hip. Cautiously they returned in the direction they'd come. The ninja followed behind, slowly. It seemed to Yamato that he was performing ninjutsu, but the hand seals looked completely unfamiliar.

He dodged three shuriken while a fourth one tore through the side of his jacket, narrowly missing his torso. Kehai should have been able to block the shuriken with a kunai or his kama. Perhaps he knew it wouldn't hit him and didn't want to use the energy to block it.

Yamato didn't know what to make of the situation. It was possible that other ninja had infiltrated the base on the same night as himself, though he believed it was highly unlikely. In any case, it was important that he continue his mission and locate the Feudal Lord. The commander wasn't his concern.

A large, strong hand gripped Yamato's shoulder. "Well, look who's watching," the owner of the hand said, a hint of irritation in his voice. He was still coming out of the stone wall when Yamato turned to look at him. "Have I found an ANBU? Oh, I think I have. Lord Senrai will enjoy this," he said sinisterly. "What is your allegiance, ninja? Stone? Leaf? Sand? Sound?"

With amazing speed, Yamato formed a wooden spike in his palm and plunged it into the wrist on his shoulder. The man's entire forearm crumbled to the ground.

"You've got to do better than that," he scoffed. Then the ninja disappeared into the walls.

"Two can play that game," Yamato said, "and I can play it better." He also used the earth technique to move into the walls.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are." The words echoed down the hall. The ninja poured a pile of small stones onto the ground, which then formed into the ninja. He insisted, "Let's do this the easy way," then smashed a hole in the wall with his fist.

Branches shot from the ground and the wall, wrapping around the ninja's legs and right arm. He reached for his tanto with his left hand and carefully slashed through the branches that entangled his arm.

The branches sped forward from where they'd been severed as the man lunged away from the wall. The wood around his legs tightened. His freed arm once again became encased in an intricate braid of branches.

"I know you're still here, so just show yourself. I can taste the confidence in your chakra. If you think you're that good, defeat me face-to-face."

Yamato answered, "Why should I?" and crushed the man's legs. They crumbled back into a pile of stones, but his upper body remained intact. Apparently it wasn't an ordinary earth clone jutsu.

"You owe it to the honor of my fathers. We served the Senju clan proudly in the great war. If you must be my enemy, honor us in this battle."

Kakashi-senpai was better equipped against this earth user. He had the advantage of his lightning release techniques as well as the pack of ninken. Unfortunately Yamato knew he was alone for this part of the mission.

The ninja dressed in brown fatigues cut through the branches on his arm as he'd done previously. Then he grabbed the onrush of branches and squeezed them with incredible power. His hand turned to stone. Yamato's wood release branches couldn't break free. "It seems I found a way to counter your jutsu," he declared as he broke off his stone hand. Another grew in its place.

He performed several hand seals. Chakra began to accumulate in his hands. "If you won't come out," he said, pausing in the unlikely chance that his opponent would reveal himself, "I guess I'll have to go hunting." His body crumbled, becoming one with the floor. The auras from the chakra he'd gathered at his hands sped across the floor, walls and ceiling.

Yamato realized that the ninja would keep moving until he ran into him, placing him on the end of a chakra-empowered punch.

"You want the honor of meeting face to face for battle? Here am I," Yamato said calmly. He emerged fully from the wall opposite the ninja's chakra auras.

"This had better not be a jutsu of some kind. I want to fight the _real_ master of the wood release, not his clone," the ninja responded.

Yamato pulled a kunai from his hip pouch and made a superficial cut between his thumb and index finger and extending part way across his palm. Several drops of blood appeared along the line. Showing his cut to the enemy, Yamato stated matter-of-factly, "Clones don't bleed. Now die."

Dozens of branches surged toward the man in brown. He jumped backward, only to realize that more branches blocked his escape down the hallway. He gave the branches a strong kick. Even with chakra concentrated in his leg and foot, he barely made a mark on the branch wall. The wall swayed, absorbing the kick in much the way that a chain link fence would. He ran a few steps toward Yamato, swiping and kicking the oncoming branches out of his way.

More branches erupted from the floor. They wrapped tightly around both his legs. Sacrificing them with his jutsu, he dove for the rock wall. What had been his legs was now a crumbled pile of rocks among the branches.

Success! He phased into the wall. Now the wood release user couldn't track or contain him.

"Do you like the wooden cell? You seem happy in it," Yamato scoffed. Clapping his hands together once, the branches forming the remaining sides of the wooden cube became visible.

The branches in the rock wall broke the slab into which the ninja had escaped. As the heavy rock was broken into smaller and smaller pieces, the ninja had no choice but to extricate himself.

The Senju clan had reason to be legendary, the ninja decided.

Branches slowly grew inside the prison cell until the ninja was thoroughly unable to move his limbs. There was no way for him to escape; even if he made his entire body crumble, there was nothing to move those particles out of the cell. The bottom appeared to be solid wood, and the sides were very tightly woven together. He could barely even see through the branches the ninja who'd so effectively bound him.

"Please," he begged, "be merciful and just kill me. Lord Senrai does not tolerate failure."

Yamato gave him one last glance before continuing on his primary objective. When he left the vicinity, the chakra would start to seep out of the wood. Within an hour or two, it would be weak enough that the ninja _should_ be able to escape. Then he could do whatever he wanted, whether repenting and groveling before the Feudal Lord or going into private enterprise, retiring or joining a real shinobi village. Yamato didn't care. He'd stopped thinking about the man as soon as his gaze left the ninja's face that last time. That was a part of his ANBU training.


	5. Expecting the Next Attack

"Fools, every last one of them," Senrai sighed. Nearly all of his forces lived in poverty. He barely could give them enough food - not that it wasn't available, but he couldn't afford it. Since claiming the title of Feudal Lord a little over a year ago, Senrai found it nearly impossible to raise taxes and improve the Land of Rivers. Ninja, especially Sand and Leaf ninja, passed through the land constantly. The gold mine hadn't been producing much lately, and it was held as a co-operative. He couldn't in good conscience raise taxes on subsistence farmers. He desired that they adore him, not loathe him as a tyrant. He truly wanted to make the land prosperous.

The problem, he believed, was that nobody dared stand up to the great nations. If he could do that one defiant act, he could improve the lives of his people. He wanted to charge a tariff for passing through the Land of Rivers. Ordinary folks and merchants wouldn't need to pay - they had other taxes, after all - but those shinobi who passed through the land should pay. They came and went without regard and often carried important cargo and messages between lands. Force the nations to respect the borders of the Land of Rivers and pay for the right to use it. Sure, there were longer ways from one village or nation to another. But if they wanted the fastest, easiest route through _his_ land, they should pay for the privilege.

To that end Senrai had begun building up a military force. He intended to use it to secure the borders and to set up toll stations, though he expected that, in time, the surrounding nations would choose to pay for bulk access. Perhaps he would even be willing to accept some free ninja services as payments, as the need might arise.

But the problem that continued to vex him was how to reward loyalty to him and to the greater cause. He didn't have enough money or supplies and decided that raising more from his own people was impossible. Nor could he steal from the nations around him - he understood the line between wisdom and folly. So that left him... making promises. So many seemed to buy into his dream, willing to accept a little less now in order for the greater good to be achieved. In time, he'd repay them all for their loyalty, not only in wages but also with positions. Despite probably having two dozen future cabinet members now, as well as countless other advisors and directors, they still believed in him. They wanted to make it real.

He knew that soon there would be aggression by the neighboring lands. His idea of securing the borders was grossly unpopular with the powers that passed through the land regularly and without his consent. He hated to think how many warriors and peasants would die when he stood up against them. He shifted uneasily in his somewhat large but decidedly uncomfortable chair. Death faced those who would stand against their own oppression. He wanted to negotiate with the surrounding feudal lords, but he also recognized that, given the opportunity, they would assassinate him. Thus he remained in his headquarters, consolidating his power for the time being.

The stone walls looked so cold as the lights flickered, bouncing light and shadows around the room.

"Lord Senrai," a young man began, bowing lowly, "an enemy is within this base. We do not know how he breached security."

"Do we know where he's from?" the Feudal Lord inquired.

Kehai answered him, "I am sorry, my lord, we do not." He bowed reverently then drew a kunai. "Even with me to protect you, this is not a safe enough place. Lord Senrai, I must insist that you be evacuated."

As troublesome as it was, Senrai knew that the conditions demanded his safety. There were so many plotters not only from other lands but also within his own ranks. He didn't know how many were disloyal, but he knew it must be a significant threat by now. The best that he could do was prepare for the dark days of the drawing storm. If he managed to survive it, he could rebuild a stronger, better, safer land. A more prosperous land. So he'd follow Kehai, his ninja advisor, and hope to live long enough to help usher in those better days.

* * *

"No mercy for the weak little traitor!" a familiar feminine voice raged.

Tiratsu looked up and faintly saw the outline of Kakiiro, blade raised above her head, ready to thrust it into his chest. He was startled. What? How? Where? What's even real?

Her companion slowly lifted his hand to stop her. "You're right, he's weak. That's why he's not a part of Kumo. But he's proven useful before." Deciding that still wasn't much of a reason to keep him alive, the ninja added, "He doesn't even know enough to be an informant. We'll keep him ... on a very short leash. He'll regain our trust and confidence," he said, turning an intense scowl at Tiratsu, "or he'll _die_."

"Fine. Now let's get on with business," the Mist missing-nin urged. It was obvious that time was more important to him than whether the pathetic ninja in front of them died. "Kankuro isn't here, so neither is the pendant if it's true that he wears it under his shirt. We made a decent search and found nothing in the village."

Tiratsu rolled onto his side, then tried to prop himself up with his arm. Kakiiro looked at him with irritation. He could tell that she wanted to kick him back down, but she'd probably get scolded for making a scene while their leader debriefed them. He tried to be attentive, but his senses still weren't back to normal.

"At least we had some fun," Kakiiro interrupted.

Chibizu, the tan and red clad ninja who'd been quiet to this point, spoke up. "Kakiiro, _fun_ is not our objective. And we haven't failed the mission yet. It's time to work on our second plan."

Tiratsu couldn't remember which plan that was. He wanted to speak up, to ask whether it was the "grab his sister" or the "lie in wait for his return" plan. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but thought better of it and restrained himself.

Shuhaka noticed and glared at him. Maybe a three-man squad would be easier. This recently-inept ninja was beginning to wear his patience very thin by simply being in his sight.

"Tiratsu, this is your mission; complete it or die trying. Fail and _nobody_ will let you live." He handed him a kunai, a spare tanto, and a length of wire. Apparently Shuhaka also noticed that he'd lost his ninja tools. "Lose that tanto, and you're dead, too. Now, your mission is to track down Kankuro without being noticed even once. If you're found, you'll be dead before you realize that you were found. On his way back to the village, you will create a distraction - a _big_ distraction - outside the village. You need to make sure that most of the Suna security forces are there. When we see that you've succeeded, we will set off another distraction on the other side of the village, which will draw Kankuro and whatever team is with him. We will engage the enemy with the purpose of abducting him."

Tiratsu looked slightly dazed.

"You do know what distraction we expect of you, right?"

Confused, Tiratsu knew it was for his personal welfare that he answered affirmatively. "Y-Yes, of course, Shuhaka."

Shuhaka coldly advised, "Then go, now."

Kakiiro scoffed at her associate, adding, "Don't screw up or you really will die. And we don't _actually_ want that. It would be far too much of a hassle."

Tiratsu quickly got to his feet and shuffled outside, out of their presence, in the direction he hoped Kankuro might be.

* * *

"Sorry Boss-Ma'am," a scruffy little weasel said to Temari.

"The only one we found was a poofy," another piped up, referring to the way a clone disappears in a poof of smoke when it's defeated.

Temari sighed, then prepared to head back to the village. She had to know if any of the others had been more successful in learning what this whole thing was about.

"You look beat," the matriarchal-looking one said matter-of-factly. "So we won't press you for anything right now. But next time you'll owe us a good chase and a better meal."

Turning to the rest of the sneak, it said, "Now every one of you back home or you'll be in trouble."

Nearly an hour of hunting resulted in finding and defeating a single clone. That was a little demotivating, especially for the sleep deprived Jounin.

Before long the sun would begin to rise, performing its daily baking of the land. She decided to use her energy and get back to the village quickly rather than toy with the morning heat.

Upon reaching the city gates, she found the entire team - Matsuri, Sari, and the Leaf trio - apparently treating their injuries and trying to piece together what happened. For a moment she wondered why they didn't do so in the council elders' building. Then she noticed several small debris clouds throughout Suna. She wasn't immediately sure if they were smoke or dust clouds, but she was certain they were from battles within the city.

"Temari-san, I'm-_we're_ glad to see you back," Shikamaru said.

Temari might have blushed or smirked at him, but she was so tired that she wasn't entirely sure of what she'd just heard.

"Tell me what happened," she demanded in an official but not overbearing way.

"Four ninja looking for Kankuro or something of Kankuro's. One Lightning-" Shikamaru began.

Temari interjected, "One Mist who likes his fire,"

"And two unknown," Shikamaru continued. "The Lightning-nin used a blinding jutsu. It has taken four hours for Chouji, Matsuri and Sari to begin to see again."

Chouji added, "And he used a jutsu to create mirrors for deflection and defense. His strategy was decidedly non-lethal."

"Ino poisoned him when he was escaping the city, but somebody must have rescued him. A woman transformed her own chakra into a tailed formed and attacked. One of her teammates subdued then rescued her.

"The Lightning-nin was looking for the gate log to see if your brother was in the city. The other ninjas had been interrogating denizens and trying to find where Kankuro might have stored whatever they were seeking. It's unclear where they checked, but it seems unlikely that they found anything useful," Shikamaru explained.

"Why is that?" Temari and Ino asked at the same time, then gave each other a strange look.

"The Lightning-nin fled like he had been stalling for the entire battle and had no reason to defeat us," Sari said in a voice that tried to mask how scared she still was.

Shikamaru added, "The woman just wanted a fight, and I got in her way. The Mist-nin was an outside distraction while the others searched. The only one who really might have found something was the fourth ninja, a man in tan and red clothing. He announced that neither Kankuro nor the thing he wanted was here, but it could have been a lie."

Temari's expression changed slightly. "Leather bracers - was he wearing leather bracers?" Her voiced almost squeaked.

Shikamaru nodded.

"If I get my hands on that boy-" she angrily began. Her breathing became heavy and quick but turned shallow, indicating a change in emotion. "Chibizu. His name is Chibizu. He's my distant cousin, a ninja dropout. What could he want with Kankuro?" She sounded on the verge on tears.

"Temari, you know your brother best," Shikamaru reminded. "What does he have of value besides his puppets? Possibly something of power, like an amulet or chakra-based weapon."

"I-I don't know," she lied. The moment she heard "amulet" she knew exactly what her brother had received from their father the Kazekage. But what could a quartet of miscreants possibly know about that pendant, and why did they want it? She would have to be extremely careful in how she investigated that matter by herself.

"So what's the plan? They all escaped, and we don't know where they went," Matsuri wondered a bit too loudly. She blushed; she hadn't meant to share that question with the group. She put her head down on her knees in frustration, trying for the moment to hide her face.

Temari asked, "Shikamaru, how confident are you that they _didn't_ find what they wanted?"

"They weren't completely mission focused, and I saw surprise in Kakiiro's - the kunoichi's - eyes when Chibizu said he hadn't found it. I think it was meant to be a 'snatch and run' mission; when it was forced to be a reconnaissance mission, they learned what they could and retreated to a rendezvous point. That's why they found and picked up the Lightning-nin on their way out.

Shikamaru's analytical skills were almost annoyingly good. Thankfully for the moment he didn't know what Temari knew. She wouldn't have long to place some countermeasures, but she didn't want anyone outside the family to know about the pendant. She needed to set up a wild weasel chase that eventually led her team to defeat Chibizu's team. And they needed to die before divulging exactly what they wanted and why.


	6. Gaining and Losing Their Senses

Author's Note: When I posted chapter 5 back in July, I had no idea it would take so long for me to write the next chapter. It starts somewhat dry/slow, but it will pick up with the following chapters. I will try to get back to updating this more regularly. My current plan is for the arc to be a total of 10-15 chapters. Thanks for reading!

* * *

Yamato created a wood clone, then he and it each took a passageway. They were searching for Senrai or any of his top officials - perhaps that commander who had been evacuated by the ninja Kehai. Long, empty halls and dead ends kept Yamato busy. In the mean time, he knew, the Feudal Lord had time either to prepare for the invasion or to escape without a trace.

Nearly a kilometer from the great hall near the entrance, Yamato found something - formerly some_one_. The body couldn't have been there long; blood was still seeping somewhat slowly onto the ground, staining the dark stone. The man was older, his clothes clean and neat, his katana plunged through his torso and pointing a little toward the left. Two or three decimeters protruded beyond his back. From behind - for he was lying face down in his own blood - it looked like a clear case of suicide by one of Senrai's foremost strategists.

Was the man so convinced that he could not win the impending battles that he chose to die now rather than suffer the disgrace and possible torture involved in losing? Ninja never understood the samurai rule of honor. Sure, some ninja had honorable principles - not attacking an innocent, not killing unless necessary, caring for one's comrades - but the dishonor of a failed mission didn't demand death. Choose your battles and live to fight another day. Even if you fail at one mission, hopefully you learn from that failure and succeed at others. Fight to death when it matters. Suicide is the least helpful solution for others.

If this body were the man Yamato had seen being evacuated earlier by Kehai, it would be good to afford extra suspicion to the man's timely demise. On further examination, Yamato discovered that the man's death was likely not his own choice. The katana's sheath was on his right hip, indicating that he likely wielded it left-handed. His wound, however, would have been made with one's right hand controlling the direction of the blade, coming through the back to the left of his spine.

Why would someone go through the hassle of killing this commander and making it look like a suicide if they weren't even attentive to details? Perhaps his death would be expected because of some upcoming event, or it would be given only a cursory look because a battle would preoccupy whoever was still in the complex. Or possibly the killing was done by someone unskilled, in which case the attacker must have known the man and caught him alone with his guard down. Or the guards revolted and killed him after taking him away. However, the last scenario seemed unlikely; if there was some internal revolt, why bother to make his death look self-inflicted?

Yamato was unsure what was happening but knew that he needed to find Senrai and Kehai and get some answers quickly, before more blood was shed unnecessarily.

* * *

A brigade of 38 men, guards and soldiers loyal to the Land of Rivers - loyal to the land, _their land_, and not to the self-proclaimed Feudal Lord Senrai - camped, ready to liberate their idealist brethren who were caught under Senrai's charisma. They were official dissidents now, deserters of a powerless feudal lord's military. Soon they would join with untold and unknown others to raise up a new leader, one who would serve with more realistic intentions, one who would make only the kinds of promises necessary to bring the Land of Rivers into the world stage.

Some of the men were looking for a fight, to relieve frustration and tension. If it meant taking out aggression on their former brothers-at-arms, then so be it. They were not so noble as to pass up such an opportunity. You could see the glimmer of hopeful anxiousness in their eyes.

Many of the men, however, just hoped for a better way of life. Senrai had promised much and thus far was unable to produce results. The men's pay and rations were very slim. They were loyal to themselves and their families - and sometimes their villages. They didn't care much about politics because they generally had so little say in anything important. They mostly just wanted a leader who was dependable, predictable.

Gaara looked over the camp speculatively. They'd garnered such a small force in the day and a half since their infiltration of the land. How could they honestly expect to succeed with the coup? Some men had left the Feudal Lord, and supposedly many others just needed incentive or a sense of security in leaving. "Kankuro, we need to make sure these forces will be loyal to the new Feudal Lord. We can't create a power vacuum and walk away. An unstable nation could become worse than an ambitious, isolated one."

Kankuro nodded. They had perceived the risks before embarking on the mission, so Gaara's comment was really just a reminder that they needed to have a successful exit strategy for the sake of their interests in the Land of Rivers. He couldn't help but let out a small grunt as he considered the gravity of the situation.

A voice broke the awkward placidity of the group, "I'm earning my freedom right now, earning it for my family. I am _not_ going to just submit to some other man with power ambitions!"

An older voice calmly replied, "But we need guidance and governance. You are certainly right that we can't just rely on others to make our decisions and solve all our problems. As a people and a nation it is our responsibility to care for our concerns and problems. But can't we raise up a wise ruler, someone with the right mix of ambition, charisma, compassion and strength? There are times when we need a strong man to stand up to the oppressive forces. Lord Senrai wants to be that kind of man.

"The problem is that one man isn't always right for the situation. We need someone who can get things done. Lord Senrai is more of a dreamer. Each nation needs its balance.

"At least as important, though, is having a leader to whom we should submit ourselves. Some men expect others to submit because of the power they wield over them. Some try to rally men with their dreams - like Senrai. Not all men will enjoy even a perfect ruler. Some appeal to higher powers - a kage's power is partially owed to the daimyo; some claim a god or spirits have given them power; some claim other men raise them up."

"So whoever leads us," another man interjected, "needs our support, the support of the people. I don't know anyone deserving of that role."

"Haha! There's the rub. We want to control the power without always taking on the full responsibility."

Kankuro scoffed at what he overheard. He had respect for authority, for orders, for power and control. But the men's discussion, or rather their bantering according to his ears, seemed so puerile. He wondered whether they actually realized the immediacy of the change in leadership for their land.

Turning to Gaara, he quietly asked, "Do they know _tomorrow_ is the day?"

"Baki will be responsible for turning them into followers as soon as he returns, within the hour," Gaara answered evenly.

* * *

Tiratsu was panting. Running as quickly as he could for a while - whether it was thirty minutes or three hours, he had no idea - he'd made it into different terrain. The ground was rocky with a scattering of stray plants, most of which were shorter than himself.

The landscape seemed oddly familiar but he couldn't put his finger on why he thought so. Perhaps his squad had traveled through the area en route to the Village Hidden in the Sand. No, he dismissed that thought from his mind. They had come from the north through the Land of Earth, and he had been heading toward the Wind's border with Rivers.

A sudden sense of panic seized him. "This is the way to the Land of Rivers, right?" he asked himself aloud. He calmed himself as he did a quick survey of landmarks, noted the position of the sun, and recalled how he'd already set up what he expected to be more than sufficient supplies for a diversion near the Sand village. He let out a frazzled sigh of relief. He couldn't remember a time when he'd been so shaken by a mission failure. Maybe it had something to do with how eager Kakiiro had been to end his life - after all, he had thought she was quite beautiful. He looked at the ground with the disappointing realization that there was obviously nothing between the two of them.

After catching his breath, Tiratsu continued his journey toward the Land of Rivers, hopefully toward Kankuro of the Sand. Before long the familiar terrain once again yielded to a changing environment. No longer were the arid, lifeless plains surrounding him.

* * *

Temari had pulled Shikamaru aside after the debriefing, to talk in private. "Shikamaru," she said, uncertain whether she should ask nicely or demand his obedience, "the people who attacked won't leave because they failed once. Either they found out where Kankuro is and they're tracking him or they're plotting a trap for when he returns."

Shikamaru looked up from his cup of tea. Temari's eyes seemed to be searching his, trying to find something that might make her distrust him. "I've already been thinking about that. They must be lying in wait for Kankuro's return. Since they don't know where to find him-"

"But what if they do somehow?" Temari interjected, showing an unusual amount of concern for her brother.

"As I was saying, they _don't_. They _can't_. So they'll wait where they know he'll return. But if they try to capture him or coerce him near the city, that leaves two main approaches: set an enormous diversion so that Sand will not be able to come to his aid - like a city-wide fire, or targeting Lord Kazekage, or a mock invasion - and grab him; or grab someone he cares about and coerce him. As far as I can tell, that leaves you and Gaara as the most likely targets; since Gaara is Kazekage, that leaves you as their most likely target."

"Oh no, whatever will I do?" Temari asked mockingly. She moved closer to Shikamaru and asked in a childlike voice, "Will you keep the big bad ninja away, Shika-pu?" then burst out laughing and gave him a gentle shove.

Shikamaru just managed a smile as he considered that this particular pain at least had her moments of humor.

* * *

Muffled tones, decidedly not harmonious, began to form distinct sounds. In a matter of moments, Senrai was aware that he was overhearing a conversation. He opened his eyes slowly only to realize that he was blindfolded. He felt his heart throbbing in his stomach. Perhaps he'd been injured there? He couldn't remember, and his hands were bound tightly behind his back.

"And I told you that we should have left him to die," someone defiantly answered.

The man's conversation partner scoffed, "Oh, and it's really that easy to garner support for a new feudal lord? Maybe I should pay homage to you right now, oh great one?"

"Wait, what was that noise?" the first man whispered rather loudly. "There it was again. Now it's over there somewhere."

"You're full of it. Nobody even knows what's going on unless they're on our side. You'd probably jump at your own shadow pretty soon."

"It never hurts to be careful, especially in a place so easy for ninja to infiltrate."

Senrai thought he heard the sound of someone unsheathing a sword. "So much for my protection," he scoffed. Facing likely death, he much preferred a scenario in which he was _not_ bound, blindfolded and weaponless where he didn't even know his surroundings. He laughed dryly, "Ah, such is life."

Blood spurted across feudal lord's blindfold. In an instant all that could be heard in the room was the weak, desperate gasping for breaths.

"How could I have been such an old fool?" Senrai probably would have asked, but it was too late even for that brief reflection.


	7. Senrai's Savior

Gaara wondered how successful Yamato's mission was. The Leaf ANBU had been on radio silence for close to a day and a half. Has Yamato even found the Feudal Lord of the Land of Rivers?

The underground labyrinth, with its war room somewhere near the center, was rumored to extend all the way to a network of remote patrol stations, ten to twenty-five kilometers in any direction. Confirming this was considered beyond the scope of necessity for this mission, but now Gaara couldn't help but wonder if he'd given Yamato a task too large for a single ninja to handle.

He spotted Baki returning from his negotiations with the Feudal Lord-in-waiting, and the man looked angry. Over the years Gaara had witnessed a variety of expressions from the typically reserved counsellor, but mad had never been one of them.

"Baki, what happened?" Gaara asked with a note of purposeful disinterest.

"They treated the honor of Feudal Lord as if they unexpectedly won a lottery! Ishin very well could make a fine daimyo, but he does not have a single able counsellor. When they taste of their power, they will fall into self-servility. Without men to instruct Ishin on wise and honorable rule, he too will fall in time into the depravities of his cohorts."

"What, then, do you suggest?" Gaara questioned coldly.

"The cares of the peasant are different from the concerns of the ninja. Perhaps we never should have gotten involved. But for now Ishin expects us to give him the Feudal Lordship. In eight hours he will claim it publicly," Baki stated. His answer was distant, making Gaara wonder what he wasn't saying.

A hundred meters away, one of the dissidents screamed out in pain. "What now?" Baki sighed as he and Gaara rushed toward the cry.

* * *

Shikamaru gazed at the nearly cloudless sky - after all, clouds are made of water, which is rather scare in the Land of Wind. He tried to imagine how the thieves might try to take Temari. From he'd seen so far, they probably wouldn't be able to do it be force. Then again, they had infiltrated Sunagakure rather easily.

He sighed lightly as he reminded himself that determining the plan was only half the battle. Temari was not the kind of girl to follow someone else's plan. "Troublesome woman," he muttered.

Temari appeared standing over his head. "You called for me, crybaby?" she said with a smile.

"How gullible is your cousin?" Shikamaru asked as his eyes met hers.

"As I said, he's a ninja dropout. Upper level genin at best. He's got a good head on his shoulders though, and I'd like to keep it there if we can."

"How well can he see through deception? I don't care about his fighting skills," Shikamaru clarified a bit more tersely than he would have liked.

"Remember Naruto's first time in the Chuunin exams? He isn't great, but don't underestimate him, either."

Shikamaru's thoughts drifted to Chouji and Ino, then to Matsuri and Sari. "Body doubles," he told himself.

"Well the real one is leaving. Let me know before you do anything extravagant . . . oh wait, I forgot who I was talking to," she said with a wry smile. "I know you're not the extravagant type."

Shikamaru propped himself up with his elbows and scoffed. "It can't be helped; time for some prep work."

As the two turned to go their separate ways, a barrage of kunai flew toward them. "Incoming!" Shikamaru shouted, but Temari was already a step ahead, swinging her fan through the air.

A gruff voice called out, "Ah, good. I've been waiting for you, my dear." A flaming chakra tiger sprinted toward Temari. "Are you ready to come?"

"Like hell!" Temari screamed, throwing a smoke bomb to the ground and looking for Shikamaru.

Through the smoke a dozen shadow tentacles pierced the tiger and immobilized it. In a few brief moments the beast lost its energy and dissipated.

Shikamaru's shadow surged forward once again, seeking their opponent.

From a distance, Shuhaka mocked, "That's all the farther your power goes? I guess I'll have to put you out of your misery quickly."

Shikamaru threw a trench knife to Temari. "Just get it close to him," he instructed.

She tossed it into the air and swung her fan, propelling the knife with the speed of an arrow into the distance.

Shikamaru disappeared in another puff of smoke, and Temari decided to set off several more smoke bombs. Grasping a pair of kunai, she ran forward through the smoke cloud, ready to show her opponent the force of a Suna Jonin's taijutsu.

* * *

"Lord Senrai," the ninja began with an inflection in his voice, hoping that the man in front of him would confirm or deny his presumed identity, "are you OK?"

The man was bound and blindfolded and scared out of his wits. He erratically shook his head up and down. When his blindfold was removed, he clearly saw the ninja crouching over him - his savior.

"Y-Y-Y-You-You're not Kehai. Wh-Who are you?"

"No, my lord, I'm not. But," the ninja motioned toward a slumped body just two meters from them, "I believe that was Kehai. I don't have time to explain, but follow me. The men who killed him are only saving you for later."

With that, the ninja grabbed either side of Senrai's collar and pulled him to his feet.

"Who are you? Where are we going?"

The sound of footsteps - men running in boots, lots of men in boots - was coming toward them.

Senrai asked worriedly, "Those aren't my men, are they?"

"We don't have time for this. Now _come_!" the ninja demanded, then ran toward what Senrai assumed would be their way of escape.

The two dashed across the large, poorly lit room, then down a maze of corridors. At first the rushing footsteps seemed to be catching them, but after more turns than Senrai had bothered to count, he could barely hear them any longer. As the two paused near the end of a hallway, Senrai took the opportunity to ask again where they were heading.

The ninja replied, "We're going to the surface to get some things straight."

"Thank you for saving my life back there," Senrai said with genuine gratitude.

His savior just replied, "It might be premature to thank me." He paused for a moment, then pulled out a small map. "Which outpost is closest to these coordinates and how do we get there from here?"

As Senrai traced the route, he realized that they were going to do lots of running. "That's a total of over _nine_ kilometers," he said, hoping that the ninja would realize that's a long distance for a feudal lord to run.

"If you don't make it there, they _will_ kill you," the ninja reminded him matter-of-factly. _At least we'll give you a choice_, he thought to himself.

They continued toward the station, knowing but not saying that they would likely face the opposition before they made it to the surface. After perhaps ten minutes, Yamato stopped abruptly at a corner in the hallway and motioned for the Feudal Lord to stop and remain quiet. At the right time they slipped past the corridor stealthily.

Yamato expected them to easily continue on their way unimpeded; instead, the saying "never count on a stranger" was given a case in point. As Senrai walked past the corridor, he recognized several of his former soldiers.

"Roiyaru!" he gasped.

Yamato instinctively pulled the man away from the corridor. He drew a kunai as well as several shuriken.

The squad of soldiers spun around to see who'd spoken. "Find and capture that man!" Roiyaru ordered.

Yamato created an earthen wall to keep some time and distance between themselves and the soldiers, then pushed Senrai to start running in front of him.

"I can't believe my own nephew has turned against me! What have I even done wrong?" Senrai exclaimed.

"You're not the strong-willed ruler that such men expect. You need to be the ruler that they need or someone else will rise to the occasion," Yamato answered coldly.

As they turned a corner, the percussion of an explosion hit them from behind. Apparently the men breached the barricade.

Lord Senrai turned back toward the corner to take a last look, and a kunai flew directly in front of his face. Yamato pulled him by the shirt away from the danger yet again. He set a series of earth and wood barriers along the corridor behind them, hoping to at least slow their pursuers.

The pair somehow managed to traverse more than four kilometers without a single direct confrontation. Senrai doubled over for a moment, catching his breath.

Yamato pondered briefly if he had made a mistake in saving the life of the man he'd been sent to kill. Well, officially he hadn't been sent to _kill_ him, only to track him and prepare a passageway so that the Kazekage along with Kankuro might kill him and install a new feudal lord. But how quickly the situation changes.

Perhaps the man next to him would prove to be more of an asset, realizing who saved him and how little security he really has. Or maybe he's just an idealistic old man who doesn't know how to command a nation. Up close it was hard to know for certain.

Yamato noticed a cold feeling creeping up his leg. He tried to jump out of the way and realized he couldn't. A face appeared in the floor just in front of him. It looked familiar yet foreign. He assumed this ninja must be a relative of the stone ninja he'd faced earlier.

A disembodied leg kicked at Yamato from the side wall. The ninja was still holding Yamato's feet securely in stone, but Yamato was able to block the first kick and duck under the roundhouse that followed it. Turning toward the kick, he pulled a kunai from his equipment pouch and stabbed the leg just above the ankle. The ninja screamed - more in shock than actual pain - but refused to loosen his grip on Yamato's feet.

Next Yamato used his wood release technique to break through the stone that secured his feet. The stone ninja made the corridor walls constrict, attempting to separate the Feudal Lord from his escort. Yamato pulled Senrai toward him, not even noticing the words the man was speaking. He made the hand seals for a domed wall inside the corridor to keep it from collapsing and separating them. Unfortunately both men were still vulnerable from below, and their enemy was presumably still in the floor.

"Ugh!" Senrai gasped as a kunai cut across the back of his knee. The Feudal Lord fell to the ground, holding his bleeding leg.

"My lord, we need to get out of here now. Forgive me for-" Senrai heard his savior ninja say to him before something stole his consciousness from him.

Yamato had seen the smoke bomb fly toward them and had taken one final breath. Whatever was in the smoke, he knew better than to breathe it willingly.

"Hand over the unconscious Feudal Lord and I may allow you to escape. I don't really care who you are, my mission is only to take him," the stone ninja said, just beyond the reach of Yamato's kunai.

"You'll have to kill us both," Yamato scoffed.

"I can, but I'd prefer to be diplomatic. He's a little more useful alive than dead. Isn't your life worth it, too?" the stone ninja sneered. He threw a couple shuriken down the corridor. Yamato dodged one that was close to him, only to realize that the ninja's purpose had been to disable the lights, not to attack.

Yamato formed two wood clones simultaneously. One charged down the corridor toward his opponent. The second performed a wood transformation into the unconscious Senrai. Meanwhile the real Yamato pulled the man unto his shoulders and performed a water release to flood the passageway. One of his clones made the wooden dome open upward, breaking through the ceiling. A giant crash of water and stones merged with the flooded corridor.

Unaware of his opponent's whereabouts, Yamato swam to the surface carrying Lord Senrai. Strangely, not a single attack occurred during the swim or as they reached what used to be the edge of the river, now more of a disfigured lake. There was no time to waste; Yamato checked his supplies and his still unconscious and still breathing partner, repacked them and headed north along the river.

As they reached a particularly rocky section, a trio of kunai flew at them from the tree line on the opposite side of the river. Yamato dodged them, but as he turned, he felt the blood still flowing from the Feudal Lord's earlier injury. He needed first aid soon or this entire escape would be for nothing. Yamato laid him as securely as possible in a nearby tree.

Sharp stalagmites shot from the ground under and around Yamato. He nimbly jumped above them before being skewered alive. In mid air he threw a kunai connected to a length of wire, which wrapped around a tree bough. He swung to safety away from the stalagmites, but narrowly missed some quickly thrown shuriken that sunk deep into the tree.

"Who are you fighting for?" Yamato shouted, asking to determine his opponent's location as much as his motivaton.

"The future Daimyo of Rivers, who else?" the ninja replied. He was standing in an opening in the woods twenty meters from Yamato.

Yamato threw a few kunai intentionally high to keep the ninja from jumping, then performed his wood release: binding nest. The ninja screamed as the wood constricted around him and pulled him into the ground. Then, in a puff of smoke, he crumbled. An earthen clone.


	8. The Snapping Turtle and the Viper

The stone ninja's menacing laughter could be heard easily over the sound of the rushing river. Yamato knew his opponent was close, most likely finding his way to the nearly helpless Feudal Lord.

In a move that perhaps went against his better judgment, Yamato performed his earth style: rampart of flowing soil technique. A massive earthen cliff rose along the river, taking with it the Feudal Lord. Now at least it would be much more obvious if the ninja attempted to reach Senrai. But such a large ninjutsu took a lot of Yamato's chakra; for a moment he had to bend over and catch his breath and energy.

That same moment, Ayakumo sprang for the cliff and threw a kunai at Yamato. Yamato barely jumped out of the way as the paper bomb attached to it exploded. The upper half of the tree that it hit crashed to the ground.

The stone ninja raced up the face of the earth rampart while Yamato brought to life a ferocious water dragon. The beast slammed into the rampart, which caused an enormous mudslide. In the aftermath Yamato lost sight of the stone ninja, but it was clear that he hadn't reached the top of the rampart before the collapse.

Yamato scanned the treeline for his opponent but saw no signs of movement. Several seconds later, Yamato knew exactly where his opponent was and what he'd done. This time there would be no escape as Yamato sent roots burrowed into the rampart and again secured the ninja with his binding nest jutsu. However, Yamato now pulled the ninja through the ground toward the river - without the use of any phasing jutsu to make the journey easy on his prisoner.

"Who hired you?" Yamato demanded when the ninja appeared in front of him. He constricted the bindings to emphasize his control and seriousness.

"I already told you, the future Daimyo of Rivers," the man replied, then spit at Yamato's feet.

Yamato began to lose his cool as he yelled, "Then tell me his name!"

The stone ninja laughed aloud, prompting Yamato to further constrict the branches around the man.

"We're not so different," Ayakumo wheezed. "Neither of us lives here. We're here to accomplish our respective missions and get paid." His breathing was becoming shallower, more difficult. "My boss hired me for insurance. Guess he didn't put much stake in the promises of hidden villages." His face contorted in pain. "As long as there's work and fun to be had in this world, my brother and I don't really care who manages this dump."

Yamato dragged the ninja neck-deep into the middle of the river, the branches tethering him there. Gaara needed to know Ishin's treacherous ambitions, and so he headed for the rendezvous point to explain it in person.

* * *

Back inside the subterranean compound, Senrai was catching his breath. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been through something so grueling. He'd regained consciousness just in time to take one gasping breath before the corridor was inundated by the river. His lungs never felt so empty, never burned so badly as he tried to keep himself from drowning.

Yamato - the _real_ Yamato - had grabbed him by the wrist and swum through a hole in the wooden wall, spilling into a side corridor. Then the ninja sealed the hole, containing the river. Once again this mysterious ninja had saved his life.

After a few moments of rest, the pair ventured onward, slowly and cautiously, to the exfiltration point. Yamato remained silent, putting Senrai at a slight dis-ease. He wanted to break what he thought was an awkward silence but feared angering the already agitated ninja.

Sensing the situation, Yamato responded to the Feudal Lord in hopes of calming the man and improving their rapport, "Lord Senrai, you're safe in my care. We will get out of here and meet with my leaders. There we'll get everything straightened out."

The duo reached the hidden stairwell the led to the surface outpost. Yamato had made a few shortcuts through walls to help them get there faster; avoiding the flooded corridor had cost them precious time and distance.

Yamato was the first to come up. He spotted two guards standing outside, spears in hand. With a quick jutsu he bound each of them with wood; no reason for taking chances at this point.

The men both screamed, alternating between confusion and anger.

"Who is your lord?" Yamato asked them, looking each of them in the face with his disturbing blank stare.

"T-The Feudal Lord of Rivers, Senrai," one of the guards stammered. He flinched, expecting to be struck for such an answer.

"And you?" Yamato questioned, turning to the other guard.

"I-I-I s-serve the Land of Rivers."

Yamato removed the first guard's bindings, took him aside and quietly explained that his partner's response was akin to plotting treason. The young guard's eyes grew wide at the word "treason." Yamato further explained that a fight for the Feudal Lord would soon be coming.

Senrai wandered toward the men. He looked incredibly weary. Upon seeing him, the guards, and then Yamato, rose to their feet. The bound guard began seeking the Feudal Lord's favor in removing the wooden bindings around his chest and arms.

The ninja continued talking to the other guard. "We cannot afford to execute a man for treason at this point. Perhaps he will come back to us. Either way, we have greater concerns at the moment. He must stay here under your supervision for now. I'll go with the Feudal Lord to meet with our forces. We will be back within a day for your further service."

"Yes sir," the guard replied.

Yamato turned and walked over to Senrai. "This guard is unloyal. But that's the small picture. We need to talk privately." He motioned toward the guard station, and they walked to it. "Only half your force is loyal to you, my lord. But the other half mostly wants a strong leader who will give them real things, not promises. That's why they're willing to go with someone else. You're not meeting their expectations. There's at least one other man who wants to be Feudal Lord. Now is the time to act decisively."

Senrai nodded in agreement. "What would you have me do?"

"It's time to join the rest of my team and find out," Yamato said.

* * *

Baki cursed when he saw the scene. Three men were clearly dead. A dozen more soon would be as well; blood was pouring from their wounds, many of which seemed to have hit vital spots. The man they'd heard screaming was still screaming, but he sounded weak and out of body. No doubt he would soon faint or die from shock. As Baki came closer to the man, he found him leaning against a fallen tree, his right leg cut off mid-thigh.

Taking the man's face in his hands to get his attention, Baki shouted, "Did you see who did this?"

A moment of clarity struck the man; his eyes grew wide as if ready to divulge the horror they'd witnessed. Then he let out a barbaric scream and tried to throw Baki aside.

Instinctively Baki substituted. From the safety of a nearby tree he saw the man plunge a kunai upward into the log. Had Baki remained, the kunai would have entered under his ribs and pierced a lung.

Over the radio Gaara asked Baki, "What happened here and where are the rest of the soldiers?"

Baki hadn't even wondered about the remaining soldiers. He'd probably just assumed that they had scattered when the attack occurred.

For safety more than mercy, Baki threw a kunai into the neck of the screamer. He half expected the man to block it, dodge it, or transform into an enemy ninja. He realized, however, that the man must have been under some kind of genjutsu to get him close and then try to attack. Now the man's body was just slumped against the log, falling slightly to the side, lifeless.

"We don't know, Lord Kazekage."

Gaara replied, "Then take Kankuro and find out. You have less than an hour to get back here and figure out how we're getting Senrai out and Ishin in."

Kankuro joined Baki and they departed, searching for signs of the enemy or the scattered men.

As Gaara walked back to the rendezvous point, he noticed a message written in the dirt: "No quarter for Senrai or his supporters." He cursed to himself. The soldiers had been attacked because someone thought they were loyalists. All those men died in vain. And now Gaara knew that he couldn't trust Ishin Yakuhikui. It seemed that they just helped install a viper in place of a snapping turtle. At least the turtle wouldn't strike unless provoked.

"Kankuro, Baki," Gaara called over the radio, "Yakuhikui ordered the assault. Be careful out there." He received no confirmation and assumed that they were already out of radio range.

Twenty minutes later the Kazekage could hear the sound of a small regiment of soldiers marching toward his location. Soon he was able to count twenty-four men-at-arms joyfully marching with their leader, who would soon be the Feudal Lord of the Land of Rivers.

"Lay down your weapons immediately," the Kazekage demanded.

The men looked at each other, then looked to their leader. Ishin replied, "I see no reason for us to comply. We are not threatening you."

Gaara, however, was not in the mood for a political squabble. Sand reached up from the ground and pulled away each man's weapon. Then he held a leg of each man in place; he wouldn't crush them . . . . yet. "Next time I expect you to cooperate when I say so. Yakuhikui, we need to speak away from your men, now." He released Ishin's leg and walked toward him coldly.

As they walked away together, the Kazekage got to the point quickly. "I don't know what your expectation is, but when someone gives their word to help you, it's impolite to have the soldiers with him slaughtered."

A look of shock overcame Yakuhikui's face. "The ninja I hired had one purpose - to ensure Senrai's demise. I only hired two stone ninja, and one of them was meant to be in Senrai's personal guard. I don't like what you're implying about the ninja I chose."

When they reached the message in the dirt, Ishin let out an exasperated, "Oh hell."

"We're in agreement, then. This can't be allowed to happen," Gaara declared with determination in his voice.

"Yes, Lord Kazekage."


	9. Taking Control

Baki relayed Kankuro's message over the radio: "Kankuro still in pursuit. I'm returning for the meeting. We'll rendezvous with him at the Wind and River border in 16 hours."

"Affirmative," a familiar voice replied. Gaara was somewhat surprised to hear Yamato on the radio. "I have the daimyo under my protection. There was an uprising. We'll be there in five minutes."

"Understood," Gaara acknowledged.

The minutes seemed to take hours to pass. Baki arrived first from the northwest. The look on Gaara's face told him that they would be in for a rough afternoon. Gaara walked to meet Yamato and the Feudal Lord while leaving Ishin with Baki.

The Kazekage's mind was racing with ideas and questions. Could one man trust the other to work together? Certainly Ishin had no reservations in his struggle to become the next Feudal Lord of the Rivers. He could be useful in administration to get things accomplished, but he might make a grab for power at any time. No, unfortunately such a man must be Daimyo or nothing.

"My lord," Gaara began, bowing slightly in the presence of Senrai, "I am reassured by looking upon your safety. Now, let us talk together. We have much to discuss."

Yamato nodded and leapt away to find Baki. When he found him, Baki was surrounded by a group of very perturbed soldiers, none of whom appeared to be carrying a weapon of any kind.

"We'll take care of this, Yamato. I want you to follow Kankuro and assist him. And prepare the River Daimyo's residence," Baki said to Yamato, but he kept his eyes fixed on Ishin.

"Yessir," Yamato confirmed then left.

Gaara said something over the radio to Baki, but Ishin was unable to hear it though he strained to do so.

The River Daimyo and the Kazekage discussed their situation - the uprising led by Ishin and the unrequested saving by this allied ninja team. Gaara wrote off their presence as being in their best interests; they'd heard about the plot and decided they would lend their support for the sake of regional stability. Senrai appeared skeptical but nonetheless listened to the legendary ninja before him.

"We believe that it won't be safe for you to lead from this base with so many dissidents. We are prepared to offer you sanctuary along the Wind border. From there you can lead your nation and garner your support."

Senrai nodded in affirmation. "And what do the Lands of Wind and Fire expect in return? Surely I know this cannot be free."

Gaara replied, "Restructure your rule. Allow us to move through your land according to a treaty as you and the Feudal Lords will later devise. The Wind Daimyo is willing to show you how he rules; I, too, am willing to show you my administration. Do not isolate your land, do not allow Akatsuki forces in your land. Be strong for the sake of your people and your nation."

The Feudal Lord laughed lightly. It was difficult to tell whether he scoffed at Gaara's offer or was genuinely amused by it.

"I am sorry, Lord Kazekage, but I do not see how your insistences will be of any use. After all..."

"We have a man in custody ready to kill you and usurp the Feudal Lordship," Gaara said with the perfect level of disinterest.

"You what? Who is this man?" Senrai demanded, seething with repugnance. "I-I think I get it now. You're threatening me. If I don't acquiesce to your demands, you'll slay me and install someone else, isn't that right?"

"No. We saved you. We expect you to do your job. We expect you to do your job _better than you have been_. Half your own forces don't even follow you. That's no way to run a nation. If you really intend to do something useful, lead this people. Make an example of this man if you desire, but lead your people, or someone else will come along and take them from you. The Sand and Leaf villages saved you, but you need your own loyal support. Beware the people's disillusionment."

The Feudal Lord stood there dumbfounded. Nobody had spoken to him with such candidness since he attained his position. Slowly his expression changed to enlightenment as he grasped the importance of the lessons he'd just been berated with.

"Whoever he is, he shall be tried for treason by the tribunal of the land. I graciously accept your offer of temporary residence. Might you send word to gather my top officials to meet us there?" Lord Senrai responded. "And as for the dissidents, I shall give them all a choice: repent of their treasonous acts and return to my service as lowly guards or face years of labor with their families, but never again to look upon my countenance."

Gaara realized that Senrai was indeed the proper Feudal Lord. The man could resume his arrogant decision making and delegating tasks as though he'd never even briefly lost control. The Kazekage sighed a small breath of relief.

* * *

Shuhaka sprang toward Shikamaru, his sword leading the way. It wasn't long before he felt something wrap around his left foot and ankle. It resisted his movements like a large rubber band, but with enough effort he could still move. He slashed at his restraint but was unable to cut through it.

Temari struck him with a powerful flying kick to the stomach. Shuhaka stumbled backward a couple steps while managing to slash diagonally at his opponent. A thin red line appeared across Temari's shin where Shuhaka managed to graze her leg.

The superficial wound only succeeded in infuriating the young woman. She landed a series of rough punches to the face and torso. Shikamaru's shadow technique kept the ninja tethered to the area. Shuhaka also failed to notice as the shadow crawled further toward his neck.

"Ha ha ha ha, as if you can hold me," Shuhaka scoffed. Flame markings began to spread across his body. When they reached the shadow, they forced it to retract down his body.

"Temari, get out of there!" Shikamaru warned, giving away his new position.

It was too late, however. A dragon-like arm burning with chakra struck Temari across the chest, sending her unconscious body flying.

Shuhaka's eyes gained a serpentine quality before turning completely black. His eyes darted in the direction of Shikamaru. He'd take care of the girl later.

He leapt for Shikamaru, who barely had enough time to dodge Shuhaka's body, which seemed to now glide through the air. Shuhaka landed in the midst of a fierce explosion, set by the ninja who'd just occupied that very spot.

Shuhaka jumped again. He struck Shikamaru in the arm, but the injury wasn't serious. Shikamaru blocked a subsequent strike, kicked the ninja in the face, and dove out of the way. He reappeared twenty meters away, seemingly waiting for Shuhaka to try again.

"I'll crush you for the weak little leaf you are," Shuhaka snorted.

Shikamaru gripped his trench knife firmly and allowed his chakra to course through it. With his other hand, he pulled a few shuriken from his equipment pouch.

Shuhaka again lunged for Shikamaru. He blocked a bite and several punches but was unable to attack the enemy even once. Six dodging leaps later, he was beyond Shuhaka's apparent range of motivated attack.

The man had a somewhat dazed, glossy look in his eyes. In a moment, it was gone.

Shikamaru jumped high into the air, throwing his shuriken into trees behind Shuhaka. He threw the trench knife as well, which tore through a tree with its chakra before being lodged in another tree. As quickly as he could, Shikamaru pulled kunai from his pouch and leapt for the dragon-ninja.

His throws were all on target, activating a binding jutsu on the one bearing the accompanying seal - one that Shikamaru had slipped onto Shuhaka's back during their earlier fray.

Shuhaka screamed and writhed in pain as the seal absorbed his cursed chakra form. As it worked, however, the ninja also lost his vitality. The seal - or perhaps the cursed form itself - was stealing the man's strength and youth. Shikamaru watched in disgust as the man's body became a shell of whom he had been.

Shikamaru uttered distantly, "Orochimaru's mark was more a curse than you ever realized." He took one last look at the body and turned to find his partner.

Temari was lying on the ground in what would be a most uncomfortable position if she were able to feel it, but she was still unconscious.

Shikamaru performed a cursory check of her injuries. She received at least one broken rib during the fight but still looked beautiful and ready to continue fighting the second she awoke. Beautiful? How had _that_ thought slipped in?

Suddenly she grabbed him by the jacket collar and pulled him close, a kunai near his neck. "Oh now you decide to come help me," she chided.

Shikamaru couldn't help but laugh a little. He smirked and extended his hand, saying, "Troublesome woman."

Temari punched him rather hard in the shoulder once she was back on her feet. "You're just lucky that you didn't need my help at the end, since you left me laying unconscious over here."

He remembered now how she could be both warm and charming and yet utterly terrifying. He wondered why he found the sensation to be strangely... exciting rather than troublesome. Shikamaru tried to banish the thought from his mind.

"We'd better check how the others are faring in their preparations. We stopped one enemy, but I don't have the supplies to reset the trap for pseudo-bijuu girl," he suggested.

Temari gave him a scandalous glance and asked, "What's the rush?" Then in an instant she was gone, having bolted for the Ino-Sari region.

Shikamaru decided to head for Chouji and Matsuri, confident that the three women would be more than able to deal with whatever they might face. Besides, Temari was the one who could use some medical attention from Ino; Shikamaru had managed to remain relatively unscathed.

* * *

Yamato was suffering from severe exhaustion. He'd been covering ground and barely sleeping if at all for three days. He was cold and soaked from the river diversion and low on chakra from the numerous fights and lack of rest. His stamina had been worn thin by escorting the Feudal Lord to safety after making the judgment call to save him. That decision was eating at him; he hoped that he had made the right choice.

The dense forest yielded very few clues about its inhabitants. Kankuro's tracks were virtually indistinguishable. Fortunately the man whom they were chasing had left a much more recognizable trail with scattered footprints and occasional bent or broken twigs. Yamato wondered if it was intentional. If the man were a quality ninja, the trail must be intentional, meaning that it was probably laid as a trap. However, he kept noticing small markings which appeared to be Kankuro's, so he kept following the trail. One way or another he would catch up to Kankuro and provide whatever support he was able.


	10. Battle of the Kunoichi

Kakiiro watched her cohort's battle from a distance. When the assignments were being given out, she'd gotten the luck of the draw - observe and report only, do not engage. Not that she preferred the luck of the draw; in fact, she'd prefer stopping a certain Leaf ninja before he blabbed her identity to everyone.

She let out a sigh as she watched nothing happen from the vantage point of a large rock outcropping. Without a true kekkei genkai, she was unable to really see any details of the unfolding plan. Twice she thought she spotted smoke but couldn't verify it without risking exposing her position.

She wondered how Chibizu and Shuhaka were managing in their efforts to draw the Hidden Village's attention. With a slight disdain she questioned if Tiratsu had yet failed in his objective.

"Why do I hate that fool so much?" she pondered aloud. "There were times in the past when he wasn't so useless." Then she moaned, realizing that she was trying to persuade herself to like him again. She didn't still _like_ him ... did she? "No, he's too much of a klutz for his own good," she reminded herself.

A strange crackling explosion occurred to the north of her position, but she was too far away to see what it was. "I need to get closer. That crystal isn't worth Shuhaka's or Chibizu's life."

Kakiiro decided against her better judgment and headed directly toward the explosion, arms trailing behind her body as she ran at top speed toward the epicenter.

Upon reaching the site, she was dumbfounded. There appeared to be nothing but a dusty, barren patch of earth.

She put her hands together and shouted, "Release!"

Her vision seemed to flicker for an instant. She pulled her hands apart, about to reiterate the genjutsu-breaking command.

"I don't think you really want to see what's behind door number two," a feminine voiced warned.

Kakiiro clasped her hands together defiantly. "As if I'm going to listen to you! Release!"

In that instant she recognized the foul smell of burnt flesh. Her face contorted at the stench, and she doubled over as if to vomit.

"That's the last time I'll waste my chakra trying to be considerate to an enemy," the woman sneered, still unseen by Kakiiro.

_Surely this is another genjutsu trap_, Kakiiro thought. A third time she put her hands together and said, "Release." Nothing happened. She performed a more complex series of hand seals followed by, "Release!" But again, nothing happened. Becoming desperate, she clasped her hands and shouted, "Release!" a half dozen more times.

She slumped to her knees, sobbing, pleading as she once again proclaimed, "Release."

"Your comrade is truly dead, but not from us. When his power was sealed within this area, he became gaunt and frail, some kind of jutsu placed in his cursed form. A few minutes after he collapsed, the curse mark spread all over his body and burned it as if the marks became phosphorous bombs. There was nothing we could do for him," Temari explained.

"W-Why did you tell me?" she asked meekly. She pulled a trio of shuriken from her holster and flung them in the general direction of Temari, but none of them hit their intended target.

"WHY... DID YOU... TELL ME?" Kakiiro screamed, murderous intent saturating her voice. "Why do you lie to me? Why do you curse the dead?" she demanded.

A dubious cloud of chakra began to form around the young woman.

"Psuedo-bijuu," both women seemed to whisper at the same time.

Ino tried to use her mind transfer jutsu on the woman, but the chakra field surrounding her body overwhelmed the technique. Ino stumbled backward a couple steps when the energy from the failed jutsu ricocheted back to her full-force.

"Ino-san," Sari called, hoping her comrade was fine.

A slightly less perky Ino responded with a quick wave as if to say, "I'm fine, leave me alone."

The two distinct blue tails took shape and swept out, but no one was behind the kunoichi. The tails knocked down several large trees, scorching them where her tails had touched.

Sari fearfully gripped a kunai in her right hand. Her left forearm was vertical in front of her torso, a metallic bracer providing minimal defense. "Lady Temari," she asked, "what's our plan?"

Temari made the boar and dragon hand seals for their strategy's code. Sari nodded and jumped back twenty meters. The team leader continued signing, and soon a large gust of wind threw a blinding cloak of sand at the chakra form.

Kakiiro unleashed a violent growl against the wind, slowly shredding through it. Once through the wind, the growl sent a small shockwave at the kunoichi trio. Temari jumped out of the way, as did Sari. When Temari noticed that Ino would be struck by the shockwave, she blasted a tuft of wind in front of the Leaf chuunin to protect her.

The current from Temari drove the shock wave into the ground, at which point Ino was able to jump to safety. The shock wave threw the earth into a disheveled state. An earthen tsunami ten meters high headed toward the Village Hidden in the Sand.

"Sari to base, Sari to base. Come in base. You have incoming!" The young woman tried desperately to reach the village on her radio, but didn't receive a response.

Kakiiro wasted no time with her next attack. Bluish purple chakra blasted from her tails, orbs approximately half a meter wide.

The crash of the sand tsunami hitting the city walls sounded like a monstrous explosion; in a way, it truly was.

Two-thirds of the ninja inside the village sprang to action at the wall, crisscrossing various jutsus and otherwise reinforcing the general area. The attack had done minimal damage inside the city despite the noise.

"Come back home so we can kick their butts together," Temari asked of her brothers. She wasn't sure when to expect them, but it would only be a couple more days before the villagers began getting suspicious.

"Huh?" Ino replied over the radio.

"Nevermind. Launch stage one," Temari tersely answered.

Sari ran to the northwest, hoping to draw her opponent's attention. She threw a kunai with an attached paper bomb. The weapon exploded ten meters from the target, out of range for dealing any serious damage.

Ino moved stealthily to the southwest. When she was in position, she let a series of paper bombs fly to hem in Kakiiro.

Sari was already forming hand seals for an earth jutsu. The rough ceramic blades erupted from the ground and then headed straight for the pseudo-bijuu with the aid of Temari's fan.

Kakiiro could sense something big was about to happen, so she opened another chakra gate and poured more energy into her ephemeral form. She growled under the vague realization of the damage being done to her own body.

In an instant, Kakiiro's growl was drowned by the exploding paper bombs. The woman-beast leapt upward with amazing power, able to see beyond her enemies beyond the explosions. She quickly made a long series of signs and incanted, "Nature disruption jutsu!"

Three masses of swirling blue and purple chakra burst toward the Sand and Leaf kunoichi, but as they flew, an enormous amount of friction was created against the nature chakra in the environment. The chakra bombs exploded into fireballs, still on course for their targets. As the fireballs came closer, their heat increased from the continuing friction against nature chakra.

Temari tried to bat hers away with a slicing wind, but that maneuver only added to the friction and thus the fireball's intensity.

Ino chose to dodge the massive chakra blaze, but its increasing intensity and increasing size made it nearly impossible to cleanly escape.

Sari faced the same problem, nervously throwing up several earthen walls to stop or at least redirect the inferno headed toward her.

* * *

Yamato ingested a food pill as he continued to follow Kankuro's trail. The men had covered an incredible distance, now less than half a day from Sunagakure. By Yamato's estimate, Kankuro was less than five kilometers ahead, and he forced himself to continue closing the gap.

In a windswept clearing, Yamato spotted a boulder that looked... out of place. Upon closer inspection, its underside appeared to be covered in a lichen growth while the top remained unscarred. The dirt around its base also looked as if it had been displaced somewhat unnaturally.

The rock exploded into head-sized chunks. One grazed Yamato's thigh, and two others came perilously close to taking off his head. When he jumped back, the ground within a twenty meter radius of the boulder collapsed into an underground chamber. Yamato was caught in the collapse and found himself looking at a doughnut-shaped room eight meters below ground level. The walls had a smooth, polished look and were surprisingly cold to the touch.

Yamato was about to mutter something about the longest day ever when he noticed a familiar face on the other side of the round room, slightly covered by the recently fallen debris.

A faint "Mtdmmr! Mbr mir!" could be heard from the gagged and bound shinobi.

Yamato quickly glanced around the room and decided it was probably safe to help his comrade. "Where are your puppets?" he asked the young man in black before removing the gag.

Kankuro fearfully looked upward as Yamato heard the familiar clicking sounds of the puppets.

Yamato turned to look at whatever was frightening his teammate, assuming it was the trap-setter.

In that instant, Yamato heard a poof behind him and felt the cold metal blade bite into his lower back.

"Thanks for _dropping_ in," the attacker chuckled.

Yamato would have rolled his eyes if not for the fact that his mind was racing to develop a plan. A chilling sensation radiated from his back wound, making it nearly impossible to stand up straight or to fully bend over.

"W-What did you do to meh?" Yamato slurred, a sudden dizziness overcoming him as well. He tried to stagger to safety, but his legs began to give out.

"Think of it as short-circuiting a few important muscles," the man replied. He spoke as if he were answering a classroom question. "But more importantly, it disrupts the flow and control of chakra. And that means no jutsus for a while."

Even as the ninja spoke, Yamato was focusing his chakra on the wound. He was happy that, for the moment, his attacker was busy monologuing rather than watching him. A small branch slowly emerged from Yamato's back as he tried to move any poison from his body to the wood.

Tiratsu suddenly turned to look the Leaf ninja in the face and noticed his look of anguish and concentration. "What are you doing over there?" he asked, once again drawing the kunai. "H-How did you-" he sputtered upon seeing the branch. "That's impossible!" he countered incredulously.

He ran for the ninja who was still sprawled on the ground. Tiratsu threw the kunai, but Yamato evaded by rolling himself to the side.

Yamato was unable to remove any poison - his opponent must have used some other means of inflicting the damage. Even worse, Yamato just wasted his chakra in the effort.

In a moment Tiratsu was on top of him with a piece of wire taut against his neck. "Care to make another move?"

The world still seemed to be spinning for Yamato. He kicked his legs upward, hoping to knock the man off balance or even manage to choke him with his feet. Unfortunately, Yamato was much less flexible in his current state than he hoped. Tiratsu angrily pushed the wire harder against his neck.

"Bad choice. Now where's your puppeteer pal?" he growled.

The clicking sound intensified, and Tiratsu couldn't help but look around.

Yamato grabbed his opponent's left hand while pushing off the ground with his own left foot, sweeping the man onto side his side. Tiratsu was somewhat dazed by what just happened, and before he knew it, his wire was being wrapped tightly around his wrists.

The former Leaf ANBU member pressed his knee forcefully into Tiratsu's midsection. He leaned close to the man's face and whispered, "Two can play the 'distracting familiar sound' game." Then, not wanting to deal further with his defeated foe, Yamato knocked him unconscious. He breathed a sigh of relief, laid his back against the ground, and allowed the world to continue its wild spinning for a few more minutes.


	11. New Attractions

Chouji and Matsuri were caught off guard by Shikamaru's backup and announcement that they had already disposed of one of the would-be kidnappers. But Chouji was more than happy to see his best friend.

Perhaps Shikamaru would even think of a way to get her to stop talking about how great the Kazekage was . . . at least for a few minutes.

Matsuri had already made it a point to give a detailed account of her willingness to fight for her Kazekage's rescue and her exuberance at his return, once to Chouji and again for Shikamaru.

After the third rendition of how her best friend had started asking her for fighting style advice - _she_ had been Gaara-sensei's student after all - the elder Leaf ninja were starting to show their annoyance.

"Kazekage-sama did teach you about incapacitation techniques, right Matsuri?" Shikamaru sneered.

Unabashed, she replied spritely, "Of course Lord Kazekage did! I'm not always a fast learner, but with Kazekage-sama as my instructor, I have already mastered three of the Sand's best environmental tactics and two hidden traps. . ."

"Great," he said, cutting her off. "I want you to go set three simple traps over there," as he gestured toward the northeast. "Make it so a Sand shinobi can't easily disable it. And before you say it, I'm not going to use you to wage war on your village." Shikamaru rolled his eyes at the last statement, but his audience didn't even notice.

"You want me to improvise, Shikamaru-kun?" the Sand genin asked with a hint of suspicion.

"Exactly. And one other thing - I need you to point out the village's traps around here for Chouji to set off on my signal. Your instructions will keep him from getting hurt."

The young kunoichi nodded, looked at Chouji and beckoned, "Come on."

The pair moved quickly to their location, leaving Shikamaru to prepare for their next opponent, whomever that might be.

In the distance, Shikamaru thought he heard the sound of an attack on the city walls but reasoned that it would have been impossible for the squad to get past them so easily. He sighed from his crossed-legged seat in the dirt and looked at the sky. It contained far too few clouds, he decided. But perhaps he might get used to it some day.

He glanced once more at the village for reassurance that the sound had been benign, but a dust cloud was rising slowly from the edge of the village. "What the..." he sighed, more out of confusion than actual surprise. He suspected that it had been an unintentional strike but nonetheless couldn't explain why or how it had occurred.

"Shikamaru," Chouji called over the radio, "is everything OK with you? We thought we heard something."

"That's a negative on the signal, Chouji. Do not engage the traps yet," he answered his friend.

"Who are we intending to trap?" Matsuri wondered aloud. Chouji just shrugged his shoulders.

"Hm... maybe we can reconfigure the pressure plates. Chouji-kun, is it true that you can do a spiked human boulder jutsu?"

Chouji felt a small surge of importance as he answered, "Yes, Matsuri-san. What did you have in mind?"

* * *

Temari dropped to the ground with an unpleasant thud. Expecting herself to be on the brink of death, she was surprised to look up and see the smashed and scattered parts of Salamander. "Ka-Kankuro..." she gaped.

He smirked briefly then acted as though he would lecture his sister for expecting anything less from him.

"So you block an attack for your sister but just shove me out of the way?" Ino whined with a humpf. The platinum blonde was perfectly fine, but she instinctively put on a show whenever a man was around. She finished dusting herself off and asked, "What happened to Kakiiro?"

"Crow hit her with Wild Dance, but she knocked him away. I lost her in the dust cloud," Kankuro responded with a hint of dissatisfaction.

"Ahhh!" Sari screamed in the distance. But it was quickly muffled before her teammates could determine her exact location or danger.

Temari cursed the orange-haired kunoichi, then turned to her comrades. "Like hell I'm going to lose this fight. Kankuro, go and rescue Sari. Then hide her in Black Ant. We can use her from there."

Kankuro nodded and headed in the direction of the last scream.

Looking at Temari, Ino couldn't help but feel a twinge of inferiority. So she mustered all the courage she could find and boldly said, "You know they _are_ looking for Kankuro, right? If she finds him in her crazy state she'll probably do her best to kill him."

The elder kunoichi glared back at her with confused displeasure.

"What I mean, Temari-san," Ino added, "is that we're going to be in for a real fight with their target right here. I have an idea for restricting her chakra flow, but it could get ugly."

"So tell me your plan already," she demanded.

"We've been researching supplements - mild poisons, really - that can disrupt a person's ability to control chakra. If used at the right points in the body, the body is forced to drastically decrease the chakra flow to avoid physical damage. It's like hitting the fire alarm and the sprinklers automatically come on and the fire doors close." Ino looked intently in Temari's eyes. "There's only two problems: it isn't very stable, so there could be some stray fireballs or worse from Kakiiro until she's sedated."

Ino paused, and Temari interjected, "That's only one problem."

"The second . . . is that I've never actually made it myself. I know the recipe and have the ingredients though."

"Then get to work. We'll just have to deal with the side effects." Temari's demeanor had turned to an icy determination. "You're not getting one of my little brothers," she muttered to herself.

When Sari woke up, she recognized that she was being held in some kind of forcefield.

"I guess I was knocked out . . . but for how long? And where am I?"

As her eyes adjusted, she became distinctly aware of her surroundings. Her body was trapped five meters in the air, in one of the pseudo-bijuu's tails. She wanted to scream, but no sound emerged.

Sari also started to feel slightly weaker. _Is it - or she - stealing my chakra?_ she wondered.

She wanted to have free movement, to turn and see where she was and how she might escape, but the purple chakra snugly enveloped and restrained her.

"Don't worry," a voice told her, "I have no intention of harming you. I'm just borrowing some of your energy since I've been a bit careless so far."

"Let me go!" Sari yelled, struggling to free herself.

"I don't intend to harm you, but if you continue to put up a fight, I might just use you to block your friends' attacks on me," the voice explained smugly. "Oh, and to answer your request, no."

"Who's this little kabuki fellow? Come to save your wimpy girlfriend, huh?"

Kankuro scoffed. "She doesn't need to be saved. She's a Sunagakure shinobi. She's only allowed you to think you captured her."

He raised Black Ant and Crow into the air, preparing to attack.

With intense concentration, Sari channeled chakra to her feet, resulting in a small flash of light. _If I can get him to attack the base of the tail, maybe I can escape_, she thought.

Kankuro took note of Sari's chakra burst and thought that it was probably a sign not to attack. "I hope you know what you're doing, Sari."

He used his puppets to distract the pseudo-bijuu, who in turn shot numerous fireballs at them. Unfortunately for her, not a single one hit its target. Kakiiro pulled several kunai from her pockets and threw them at Kankuro. In her transformed state, Kakiiro was able to send a burst of chakra along each kunai, tripling their size.

Temari ran onto the scene, wielding half a dozen shuriken. She threw them wide, careful not to hit Sari even unintentionally. Nonetheless, Kakiiro swept her tails to the sides as if to block them or to strut her superiority. Temari dove into the air toward the tailed chakra monstrosity.

The ground erupted just behind Kakiiro. Ino jumped into the air, aiming a kunai at the base of each chakra tail. Either knife dug into the flesh where her lower back met the top of her butt.

Kakiiro's chakra burned away part of the kunai then flickered. A small, deformed third tail sprouted. All three chakra tails began to spasm, and Sari writhed in her torturous coccoon. Kakiiro roared in pain and looked for a victim on which to unreleash her rage.

Temari's fan shot open mid-air above the beast. She attacked the base of the tail confining Sari, and conversely to what one would expect, the wind chakra cut through the tail. Sari fell to the ground awkwardly. She groaned and held her right elbow.

Ino rushed to her aid, but Kakiiro wiped some blood from her wound across her hand. Much of her chakra aura was fading away, but a trained medic would still note the murderous intent in her chakra. Kakiiro slammed her palm to the ground and announced, "Summoning arts: Great Whirlpools."

Three gigantic vortexes overtook the land. Ino and Sari were swept to the bottom of the nearest whirlpool, unable to free themselves from the torrents.

Kakiiro smeared more blood on her hand and incanted, "Summoning jutsu: men-of war." Several enormous jellyfish splashed into the churning waters and started seeking their prey.

"Hang in there!" Temari shouted. She prepared to glide over to Sari and Ino on her fan but was stopped short.

Black Ant pulled her aside just as a water jutsu pierced the air where she was standing a split second ago.

"What the hell did you do to me?" Kakiiro steamed at her opponents. Unfortunately the one best able to answer that question was still near the bottom of a whirlpool. She tried to run but was having substantial trouble moving her legs normally. She stumbled twice, each time trying to turn her misstep into a setup for some kind of attack. She lobbed a kunai toward Kankuro, but it strayed wide to the right.

The young man had driven Crow into the churning waters, but he couldn't seem to reach his comrades. The seconds ticked by slowly as his frustration grew. It was as if the water currents were subject to Kakiiro's will. "_Could she control the summoned waters with her mind?"_ he wondered.

Despite the discomfort of being thrashed and spun dizzyingly by the whirlpool, Ino found herself strangely at ease. She'd discovered quickly that her movements were useless, perhaps even counterproductive considering the chakra involved in the water summon jutsu. The more she tried to resist, the stronger she was pulled away and the greater the water pressure against her body. She was at the mercy of the waters, and it felt almost peaceful.

Sari, however, was being attacked by a man-of-war. Its many stinging tentacles wrapped around her wrists and legs. She would have sworn that her appendages were on fire if not for the fact that she was fully submerged in water. Another thick tentacle wrapped around her abdomen, causing her to drop the kunai she was grasping in her right hand. She closed her eyes and said weakly, "I'm sorry, Lord Gaara, for dying, for not being strong enough or smart enough. I hope you will forgive me."

The kunai found its way through one of the creature's tentacles, loosening its grip on the kunoichi.

Ino glided past, kunai in outstretched hand, slicing off a tentacle that wasn't touching Sari. The man-of-war pulled back in pain, and Sari's left foot swept backward accordingly.

With a huff, Temari flicked her fan toward the whirlpools and called out, "Desert winds jutsu!" A strong, steady wind blew against the waters. After a minute it became evident that the jutsu was slowly drying the waters and driving them back.

"Kankuro, take care of those men-of-war. I'll get our shinobi back," Temari shouted.

"Oh my my my... I didn't even know who I was fighting," Kakiiro said. She bowed slightly, and in a seductive voice cooed, "Please let me see your pendant, Kan-kun. It's _so _beautiful and special." She tossed her luxurious orange hair with her hand, and a small cloud of orange dust drifted to her target.

At first Kankuro felt outraged, but in a moment he forgot what had even bothered him. He felt confused and still somewhat upset, but he couldn't place his finger on the reason. "T-Temari? Where'd you go?" he inquired timidly.

"Oh Kan-kun, don't worry, she's fine. But we need to get out of here quickly before the enemy comes and attacks us," Kakiiro explained.

Kankuro furrowed his eyebrows. Something seemed out of place. "Why would Temari retreat without me?" he wondered aloud. "It just doesn't make sense."

Kakiiro walked slowly to her target, the sultry grin of a paramour spread across her face. "_This turned out to be easy_," she thought to herself, and the grin grew wider. She embraced Kankuro's arm, looked up into his eyes and smiled. Then she put her head on his shoulder, giving off a heavy dose of the reagent. She performed a few hand seals, and in a puff of smoke they were gone, transported to a nearby spot away from the Suna and Konoha ninja.

With a strong gust of wind, Temari weakened the side of one of the whirlpools. She plunged her arms into the waters and soon caught Ino by the hand. Wielding her fan in her left hand, Temari swept another small gust at the water and drew Ino from its clutches.

The Leaf kunoichi gasped but surprisingly didn't cough up any water. She looked up at Temari expectantly, but the woman already was trying to reach Sari.

"Kankuro, where are you?" his sister asked. She expected him to have taken care of most of the jellyfish by now. Instead, all of them appeared to be swarming around Sari. Temari couldn't help but grimace at the challenge of rescuing Sari before she drowned and rescuing her brother before Kakiiro harmed or kidnapped him - assuming that wasn't the reason he wasn't responding already.


	12. Radio Static

**Note: **Sorry it's taken ages to update this (and get closer to its conclusion). School, work, and everything else got in the way for too long. Hopefully the next chapter will be out within another week. Happy reading!

* * *

When Tiratsu regained consciousness, he found himself trapped in a wooden cage. He was at the bottom of the pit trap he'd made earlier in the day, but he was still cloudy about the series of events that led to his present predicament. His head hurt. The left side of his forehead was throbbing, and he found dried blood and a large welt there when he touched it.

He unsheathed his tanto, somewhat surprised that a ninja would leave him his tools and weapons after attacking and imprisoning him. He performed a lightning blade jutsu with the tanto and effortlessly slashed through the wooden bars of his cell. The beams toppled with a simple kick, and out stepped Tiratsu. He jumped atop the cage and then leapt out of the crumbled earthen trap.

His captor was nowhere to be found.

Tiratsu headed toward the meeting point. He felt that there was reason to believe he could still nab Kankuro's sister, use her to lure him out, steal the pendant and have a successful mission. It was a lot, but it was certainly doable.

He found Chibizu at the base of a large rock outcropping. The rogue ninja seemed to have been waiting there for some time, likely expecting a signal at which to engage the enemy. The rocks leaned together in such a way as to form a series of small tunnels between them - not enough to really hide, but it offered a small barrier from the wind at least.

Chibizu scowled at his partner. "So where's my cousin?" he inquired gruffly. Noticing Tiratsu's glance, he specified, "Kankuro. Or Temari for that matter."

He sneered at Chibizu. "Why's that so important?"

"Unless you already got the pendant..." he trailed off. A glimmer of evil intent flashed in his eyes.

In an instant he was behind Tiratsu and plunged a kunai delicately underneath his ribcage. He saw a puff of smoke and found his knife digging into a piece of sandstone - a timely substitution.

"I'm a lot less merciful when you betray me and refuse to die, Tiratsu."

A massive bolt of lightning erupted from the stone tunnel. Tiratsu used it as a whip, turning parts of the sand into glassy lumps around him.

Chibizu threw a shuriken then used the Shadow Shuriken Jutsu to multiply it into a dozen.

Tiratsu knocked them away with his lightning whip, the end of which barely missed his opponent's right wrist. "What makes you think I even have the pendant?" he screamed.

"You're stealthier than you seem. And you won't give me a straight answer."

"You're right, I am," he said, taking Chibizu's comment as a compliment. "And you haven't given me a straight question."

Tiratsu flicked the whip at his comrade, just enough to remind the young man that he could still be a threat.

"You don't scare me though, Tiratsu. Do you have the pendant?"

"No," was all he said.

Chibizu was becoming angry. "Enough of this childishness!" he insisted. "Give me the pendant."

"No. Either we all give it to the Master or none of us do and we all die."

"A bold plan," Chibizu scoffed, "With the boldness of an idiot."

The lightning whip crackled as it cut through the dry breeze. Chibizu jumped back, but the whip slashed through the front of his pants. Fortunately they were loose enough that his legs had been unharmed.

He cursed Tiratsu's rashness and belligerance.

At a distance, Yamato kept a watch on the fighting partners while trying to recover from his exhaustion. He hoped that they remained near the rocks, which would allow him to continue observing without further draining his energy.

Chibizu put his hands together and exhaled in three short bursts. The winds hit his opponent in three quick concussions, knocking the man back a step but not injuring him.

Tiratsu mocked, "Is that all you can do? I've been slapped harder by my mother." He flicked the lightning whip around Chibizu's back in preparation for his final attack.

The red and tan ninja leapt into the air and to the right. He threw a shuriken at Tiratsu, who narrowly dodged the attack.

Yamato tried his radio to reach his team.

No answer.

When Tiratsu hit his former comrade with the lightning whip, he saw a puff of smoke and felt sudden pain bite into both his hamstrings.

"Next time," Chibizu whispered over Tiratsu's shoulder, "learn to tell the difference between a clone and the real thing."

Tiratsu was unable to stand any longer due to his leg injuries. He fell to the ground, catching himself with his arms. He turned to look at the man who'd stabbed him in the legs, and Chibizu swiftly moved to backhand him in the face. However, Tiratsu caught the young man's wrist before it struck him. He swept his tanto across the underside of Chibizu's left arm, drawing blood.

He jumped back in surprise and screamed, "What is your problem?"

"You want me dead and you attempt to insult me repeatedly," Tiratsu explained matter-of-factly.

Yamato tried the radio again.

"And you're acting like a cornered serpent," Chibizu countered. He was attempting to wrap his forearm with his sleeve to stop the bleeding. "The only thing reasonable to do with a cornered serpent is to cut off its head so it never again strikes."

"Then do it quickly. But don't be surprised when you find that I don't have the pendant," Tiratsu said, earnestly.

Chibizu's head shot around when he caught the remote sound of electronic static.

* * *

Shikamaru met Chouji and Matsuri as they were finishing preparations. "Looks like you two have a knack for teamwork," Shikamaru noted. Matsuri smiled proudly, taking his words as a compliment.

"Matsuri, can you imitate Temari-senpai?"

Shikamaru cringed when he uttered the honorific. He implied Temari as Matsuri's senpai but didn't want to acknowledge that she outranked him, even if they were from different villages.

"I-I... yes," she responded, blushing slightly. She transformed into a perfect replica of Temari.

"What should we do next, Lady Temari?" Shikamaru asked, bowing slightly for cynical effect.

The blonde pulled out her fan and slugged him. "Don't start with me," she barked.

Chouji burst into a fit of laughter, and Temari couldn't help but blush profusely.

"You're good at that, too," Shikamaru added with a laugh.

Temari proceeded, "Here's the plan. They want me to get Kankuro to get something from him. They know I don't go down easy, so it's going to take a lot to sell this."

As she laid out her strategy, Chouji's expression changed from pride in his young Sand protege, as he saw her, to disappointment. "Shikamaru, do you have anything to eat? All this work has been exhausting without a proper meal."

Shikamaru smirked and pulled a small bag of chips from his pouch, tossing it to his friend. "Chouji, that wasn't what was bothering you, was it?"

The bag of chips was nearly empty already. "Well," he said between bites, "that's just a lot. . . to expect to go right."

The Konoha tactician nodded, then added, "But we have two Temaris, and it only takes one."

"I don't know any fan jutsus," the young Temari piped up.

"Then don't be quite as... bold as Temari typically is. But if you're in a bind, we'll put something together for you." Shikamaru took the time to choose his words wisely, not wanting to start trouble for himself.

The kunoichi nodded, and in a puff of smoke she was gone. Shikamaru sighed lightly and looked at the sky. It was such a light blue.

Saying what was on his friend's mind, Chouji noted, "There are a lot less clouds here. But I don't think that would take away from it - especially with the right partner."

For a moment Shikamaru glared at him, understanding what he implied. He shifted uncomfortably, then added, "She probably doesn't even like sky gazing."

The two parted, each one going to his respective post to wait for the signal.

A flash of blue light illuminated the daytime sky before they made it half a kilometer. Shikamaru cursed; something must have gone wrong for Ino and Temari to fire a blue flare.

Shikamaru checked his radio. "Temari, Ino, Sari, what's your situation?"

Radio static.

"Repeat, what's your situation?"

The radio crackled, "Two enemy ninja . . . fighting each other . . . six kilometers east of Sunagakure . . . target not captured."

"Rendezvous at delta site in one hour. Observe and report until then," Shikamaru commanded.

He listened for any other voice. "Alpha team, what's your status?"

After a long twenty seconds of waiting, Shikamaru reached to turn off his radio.

"She . . . my brothe. . . !" Temari shouted frantically. ". . . ave Kankuro!"

"Shikamaru!" Matsuri yelled as she ran back toward him. "Shikamaru, what are we going to do?"

"Regroup at the delta site like I said. We'll plan from there."

"Didn't you hear her?" Matsuri asked, practically screaming. The young woman was out of breath, and she couldn't help but to strain her voice. "Kankuro-sama was taken. Temari is fighting to save Ino and Sari. The enemy left, but they're in bad shape."

Shikamaru cursed. His face betrayed a mix of fear and anger, which quickly turned to icy determination. Yet he couldn't restrain himself from allowing an all-too-real enunciation, "This is bad."

The trio sped toward Temari's location as a hundred scenarios flooded Shikamaru's mind.

* * *

Yamato noticed a sudden change in the argument he'd been observing. _Darn, they must have overheard the radio_, he thought. He reached into a jacket pocket and retrieved his last food pill. Foreseeing that he would somehow be dragged into the foray soon enough, he placed the pill in his mouth and swallowed. The dry air left his mouth parched, and the pill took longer than expected to go down his throat. He gagged - or perhaps it was a muffled cough. Whatever the noise, Chibizu heard it and turned his head.

"I knew we were being watched," Tiratsu whispered. "What do you want to do?"

Chibizu changed his posture, grinned slightly, and matter-of-factly replied, "Kick his ass."


	13. A View from Above

**Author's note**: At long last, another chapter, another step closer to the end of this arc! Thanks to the reviewer who recently reminded me to finish writing - I'd forgotten about it during the school year, and now I have a little spare time. I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

Kakiiro and Kankuro made their way to one of Kan-kun's favorite hiding spots, a small bunker with a hidden passageway into Suna. Thankfully, Kankuro was still in a state of mind to keep that secret passageway a secret. Kankuro didn't have his puppets with him, and it bothered him that he couldn't remember why he'd had to leave them behind.

"Kankuro-kun, I need to tell you something," the orange-haired kunoichi said as she nestled up next to him. "I need your help with a problem. My village has someone who's been showing signs of chakra influence from the one-tailed beast. We've tried to keep it as top-secret as possible, but I know that the leadership of Suna can help."

Kankuro didn't disguise his surprise or anger. His guard instantly came back up. "That's impossible. The One-Tail has been sealed. And there is no special way to control such monstrous power." His mind raced, trying to think of how he'd get himself out of this mess.

"Please, Kankuro. Lend us your help. My village could be destroyed without it!"

Reaching for his weapon, Kankuro warned, "You shouldn't know about that." He struggled to get to his feet, but managed to throw a shuriken with his other hand.

The bright-haired woman jumped out of the way. "I guess I have to do this the hard way," she sneered, then pulled a pair of senbon from her hair.

Kankuro was standing with a kunai and more shuriken at the ready. He didn't have anything special planned, but he hoped this kunoichi - who, he was beginning to remember, hadn't recognized him at first - wouldn't be ready for his puppetry techniques.

"Just give me that pendant, or I'll die along with your cousin," Kakiiro threatened.

"You'll die today one way or another. A shinobi need not show mercy." His words were icy. He was sick of all the attempted manipulation he'd witnessed over the past couple of days. He threw a pair of kunai at his enemy.

Kakiiro deflected one to her left, while the other sailed just wide to her right. "Is that all you have without your puppets, sweetie?" she heckled. "Well, let a lady show you how it's done." Again she flicked her hair, undoubtedly to put more poison into the air as well as to demonstrate her feminine appeal.

She threw the senbon at Kankuro, one aimed for his heart and the other for his shoulder. As he started to jump back out of the way, she finished the shuriken water clone jutsu. Two senbon materialized into a hundred. Kankuro felt a burning sensation tear through his left deltoid and another grazed him just above the hip. Instantly he felt woosy... again.

Kankuro slumped to the ground. As his eyes began to close, seemingly against his will, he uttered, "I don't like you . . . . do . . . I . . ?"

Kakiiro couldn't help but chuckle. "Sweetie, you could have been crazy about me."

* * *

The Kazekage had, in effect, stopped a coup and reinstalled the Feudal Lord of the Land of Rivers. Daimyo Senrai appeared ready to handle his dominion and take care of the rebels in his ranks. But Gaara didn't feel right handing over the traitors that his team helped to recruit over the last three days. He was the traitor, really. He switched sides at the last minute, and he was prepared to sacrifice these soldiers' lives if it improved the situation for the Wind and Fire nations. But that would never be Naruto's solution, and for some indescribable reason, it bothered the Kazekage.

_Naruto-kun, how would you bring this broken land back together?_ Lord Gaara wondered.

He thought of his first encounters with proud, talkative genin. "_I'm going to be the next Hokage!_"

_Hokage. . . . Hokage... _Gaara played with the word as if it wouldn't let go of his tongue. _. . . . Hokage . . . . hoka... _Gaara burped, startling himself. _Hoka - the other! Hoka . . . age . . . buta! Hoka agebuta! The other trap door. _Gaara had spent so much time thinking of how to bring down the daimyo that he had forgotten the other use of a trap door – to allow something hidden to come to the surface at the right time.

Gaara signaled Baki over the radio. "It's time to bring them all to the training station."

"Agreed, Kazekage-sama."

Rejoining the Daimyo, Gaara announced, "I have a further matter to discuss regarding your security forces. There is a man with considerable talent who could be of use to you, but there is also the possibility that he could strike at you like a cornered snake."

"How intriguing," the Daimyo replied with a chuckle. "And when might I meet such a man?"

Gaara turned to look him in the eyes. "Feudal Lord, it may be sooner than you would expect. Please pardon my brevity, but the time has come for us to make our journey. The preparations should be finishing as we arrive."

"Then let us not waste any more time, Kazekage-sama."

* * *

Temari lashed out violently at the whirlpools with her fan. _If only Kankuro hadn't come back so soon_. . . . _If only I were stronger. . . . If only. . . . _She slumped to her knees in despair and anger.

A gentle breeze caressed her shoulders as it passed.

"Damn it, Kankuro! Damn it! That little psycho floozie probably won't let you live even if she gets that pendant. Ahhhh!"

Meanwhile the whirlpools seemed to be slowing down. If Temari had noticed, she might have thought to double the rescue efforts for Ino and Sari. Or she might have deduced that the little orange-haired psycho was getting further away with her little brother - not that she needed the weakening of a jutsu to tell her that.

Shikamaru, Chouji and Matsuri arrived after a few minutes, long enough for Temari to begin to regain her composure. Immediately Chouji attacked the base of the whirlpools with his partial expansion jutsu. The swirling waters splashed with a shock and fell to the formerly dry ground. Ino let out a watery gasp followed by long and painful-sounding coughing. Sitting up, she looked around for Sari. _Where is that kunoichi?_ Ino wondered.

Matsuri was already at her best friend's side, performing triage. She rolled the young ninja onto her side in hopes that Sari would begin to cough up any water. After a tense moment Matsuri waved to the others. She nearly choked on the words as they came out, "Sh-she's not breathing! Medic! Sari's not breathing! Somebody help her! She's not breathing!"

The group rushed to her side, with Chouji assisting Ino. Temari had already refused help from Shikamaru.

"Ino," Chouji said hastily, "treat her heart. She needs resuscitation." He gently rolled the girl on her back and began performing mouth to mouth. On the third breath, Sari began to heave, and Chouji backed away and turned her to the side before she vomited on him.

Temari watched the scene in surprise, then pulled Shikamaru close. In a whisper she acknowledged, "They make a good pair, you know."

As they pieced together the latest incident with Kakiiro, Yamato broke radio silence. "Requesting immediate assistance. Two shinobi. Their target is assumed to be an ally. I'm almost out of chakra. Head toward the eastern rock outcropping from Suna."

"Well that was unusually direct," Ino noted.

Shikamaru shook his head. "When Yamato is beyond his safe reserve of chakra, he starts acting a lot like a regular person with low blood sugar. And considering his chakra reserves, that must have been a heck of a mission."

"Matsuri, Chouji, I need you to go help Yamato. Use_ that _plan if it's feasible."

The duo confirmed, "Yes, Shikamaru-kun."

_Shikamaru-_kun. _Temari-senpai but Shikamaru-_kun. He mulled over the thought for moment, unintentionally letting out, "Troublesome woman," under his breath.

"Yes, Shikamaru-kun?" Temari answered, intentionally drawing out the last syllable, then smacked him in back of the head.

Shikamaru rubbed the back of his head and thought, _Some day I want to know how she does that_.

Temari smiled, then her expression turned completely serious. "Time to kill that psycho and get my brother back."

Shikamaru nodded. "Ino, stay here with Sari and relay any messages from the other team."

"Of course!"

* * *

Chibizu threw a smoke bomb to the ground. It wasn't much, but it provided minimal cover for him and Tiratsu to gain a better vantage point.

"Idiot," Tiratsu chided, "Don't use a smoke bomb in the sand. Make a dust cloud, unless you're trying to attract attention."

At their new vantage point, Chibizu responded in a whisper, "It worked, didn't it?"

After a few minutes of careful searching, Chouji said in exasperation, "Darn it, I can't find him anywhere."

"Just keep looking," replied Lady Temari's doppelganger, "they can't be too far. There's still a faint smell of smoke bomb in the air. If I had to guess, I'd say it came from that direction," she said, pointing past the rock outcropping.

Chouji nodded to his comrade, then he pretended to go searching in a different direction.

"I know you're still around here, dear cousin. Come out and it won't have to be that painful for you. But defy Suna, and don't expect any mercy."

The kunoichi opened a small vial of blood she'd prepared and smeared it across her fan; after all, it would be senseless to waste a transformation by cutting yourself for a summoning jutsu. "Summoning jutsu!"

Once again, the sneak of weasels appeared, though obviously they were a little confused upon seeing and smelling their summoner. The matriarchal one pushed her way forward, then whispered, "Last time, you promised us a nice meal and a good chase. I expect you to be keeping that promise this time."

With a slightly disappointed sigh, Temari agreed. "I think it will be a decent chase, but I have a special condition: do your best not to hurt them. I want them incapacitated, not decapitated. And one other thing . . . I don't even know what you like to eat."

A dark-furred weasel in back snickered, "The Lady's memory isn't great, but I'm sure she'll remember by the time we're ready."

The comment earned a quick glare from another one in the group. Then, in an instant, the hunt was on.

Tiratsu had to admit that his comrade's move had been useful. The wind had blown the smoke westward. The obvious high ground was northeast of the rocks, and so most ninja would prepare a western flanking maneuver, putting themselves between their enemies and Sunagakure. But the duo found a spot west-northwest of the rocks, where, with a little overdue luck, they could catch Temari by surprise.

Although Tiratsu and Chibizu wanted to beat the ninja who'd been spying on them, their primary target was still Kankuro's sister, who might be traded for the amulet they had been hired to obtain. Chibizu nudged his companion. "How are we going to deal with our apparent rat problem?" he whispered.

Tiratsu shifted uncomfortably. "As much as I'd like to deal with it – and trust me, I'm in the mood – I'm not going to risk getting our hostage." He sat there thinking for a moment. A wry smile grew slowly across his face. "But everybody likes a good lightning show, don't they?"

* * *

Within hours, the Land of Rivers Daimyo arrived at the training facility and temporary headquarters provided by the Land of Wind. A lesser man would have marveled at the sheer cliffs carved out by the turbulent river hundreds of meters below. The Daimyo stood solemnly, overlooking his land from the Wind border, wondering how he could have kept himself from becoming indebted to his power-mongering neighbors.

The best that he could hope for at this point was a negligible change in international politics. He knew that he would be under fierce pressure for contracts favoring the Wind nation. His face hardened as resolve and disdain swelled within his heart. "What do I have to do . . . ." slipped through his lips.

Baki cleared his throat before approaching the Feudal Lord on the balcony. "My Lord, I ask that you come inside. The Feudal Lord of the Land of Wind has been contacted, and his response is expected shortly. As for you, we would like to begin with addressing the problem of your conspirators."

The Daimyo closed his eyes for a moment as if to remember his vision for the land. Then, slowly, he turned and followed the shinobi to the conference room.


End file.
